CANADA
CBC News
By Michelle Bellefontaine, CBC News
Premier Rachel Notley has apologized to indigenous Albertans for the government’s past silence on residential schools.
“We want the First Nation, Métis and Inuit people of Alberta to know that we deeply regret the profound harm and damage that occurred to generations of children forced to attend residential schools,” Notley told the legislature Monday.
“Although the province of Alberta did not establish this system, members of this chamber at the time did not take a stand against it. For this silence, we apologize.”
As survivors of residential schools looked on, Notley told them that “in the journey of reconciliation, you no longer have to walk alone.”
She vowed that the government will make a “fundamental shift” in its relationship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.
Notley became emotional as she called for the establishment of a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
“We join the families, national aboriginal organizations, the province, the territories to lend our voice to the call for a national inquiry, because it is the right thing to do,” Notley said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.