CANADA
Ottawa Citizen
MARK KENNEDY, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged that Canada will fully accept its “failings” in the century-long saga in which thousands of aboriginal children were sent to residential schools, where many endured physical and sexual abuse.
Trudeau made the promise Tuesday to hundreds of people gathered at the closing event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which released its final report after several years of study.
Trudeau’s remarks were met with cheers and standing ovations from those in the room – many of whom were former residential school students. Former prime minister Stephen Harper skipped a similar event last June where the TRC unveiled its summary report.
Trudeau had already endorsed the work of the TRC and said he will implement its proposals, although many do not fall under federal jurisdiction.
Trudeau did not lay out in detail Tuesday the recommendations he will put into action. But he noted that one of them – an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women – will be established. As well, as the TRC recommends, he said the government will implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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