Page 6 - Best Magazine Summer Edition 2017

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THE BEST MAGAZINE WINTER 2016 - 2017
On the day I became a Canadian Citizen, 21 years ago, I received a beautiful Canadian
flag as a gift from my good friend William S. I celebrated Canada Day 150 proudly displaying my flag, in my front yard and on my Facebook wall. I had not used my flag since becoming a citizen until today: I felt compelled to fully assume my commitment to Canada, in the face of opposition raised by First Nations people to a well- deserved celebration.
Why celebrate Canada’s 150: It is a call to acknowledge the
peaceful existence Canada affords to its citizens, in a world besieged by wars and oppressive regimes; To celebrate the freedoms and the security that we enjoy: freedom to share our opinions - as controversial as they may be; freedom of mobility day and night; freedom of religion, without living in daily fear of being prosecuted or killed.
The only limitation to the freedoms of a person is a fine line at the start of another person’s freedoms; a line zealously protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enshrined in our Constitution, a quintessential Canadian construct. Canada is a country built on a balance of competing interests and divergent cultures, all under one umbrella, living peacefully. This continuous battle between opposites, without spilling into an all-out war, or disturbing high crime rates, is in itself an achievement.
On the other hand, we owe due attention to the resistance mounted by First Nations people to celebrate Canada’s 150. To formulate an opinion, absent a responsible effort to understand the source of the discontent, does not honour the commitment we have made to Canada in assuming Citizenship. At the crux of this resistance are the Residential schools designed to assimilate First Nation’s children into the
settler’s way of living - and the resulting consequences that echo to this date.
The government of Canada has apologized for the brutal conditions indigenous children were subjected to, under a policy of “aggressive assimilation”, being removed from their families to live in government-established Residential schools, believing they could successfully assimilate these children into a system foreign to them, dominated by the budding Canadian Christian society.
“ It is estimated that about 150,000 aboriginal, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend residential schools”. (Library and Archives Canada/PA-042133)
The consequences for generations of indigenous children were devastating: they were emotionally and physically abused; malnourished, stripped from their language and sense of community. They would become ashamed of their ancestry. This is arguably the most compelling reason for the rampant alcoholism, poverty and the abuse of the women in their reserves that has challenged their survival and subsistence.
In 1990, there was a call for the churches to acknowledge their
participation in the deplorable conditions forced on indigenous children. A Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was convened and a report was issued in 1996. By 2007 a 1.9 billion compensation package was formalized. The Anglican Church, Presbyterian Church, United Church, Catholic Church have since all apologized for being a part of a system for the abuse they were involved in.
A great number of Canadians resent First Nation’s perpetuating punishment of Canada, and instigating endless guilt. On the other hand, healing does not occur overnight. Canadians and First Nations people owe the land that we all share the responsibility to continue the engagement and education to find common ground, shifting the gaze to the future constructively, leaving the past where it belongs. Otherwise, the past will never let the future succeed.
Source used: CBC News Posted: May 16, 2008 and Last Updated: Mar 21, 2016.
ECONOMÍA Y FINANZAS
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS ARE
CELEBRATING CANADA AS A GREAT
NATION – WHAT GIVES?
BY CLAUDIA FALQUEZ-WARKENTIN • LAWYER •
ECONOMY AND FINANCE