 Premier Danny Williams. CBC Photo |
 Innu elder Marie Astor is fighting eviction notices her family received. Innu people are still waiting for reclamation of lands damaged by mining. Photo by Armand MacKenzie. |
| READ MORE |
| Press release and news coverage on the eviction notices sent to the Innu in May |
| Text of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology |
| Apology Must Be Backed By Action, Native Leaders Say |
Newfoundland Labrador - Premier Danny Williams was somewhat dismayed by all the publicity surrounding the eviction notices his administration sent to Innu citizens in May and how it negatively reflected on the provincial government. It caused Williams' administration to rethink their strategy and come to the decision that the claims should be resolved out of court. After a productive meeting in Quebec City with Innu leaders, Premier Williams agreed to consult them before any further actions are taken on the eviction orders, according to Innu attorney Armand MacKenzie.
'We Are Sorry'
Prime Minister Stephen Harper had yet to utter a single word of Canada's apology to former Indian residential schools students when the cheering began. Native drumming and shouts turned into loud, simultaneous clapping. Raw emotion bursting for an apology decades overdue. There were many smiles.
For the sexual and physical abuse that occurred at the schools, Canada apologized. For the efforts to wipe out aboriginal languages and culture in the name of assimilation, Mr. Harper expressed remorse.
But aboriginal eyes in the now quiet House of Commons room began to tear when the Prime Minister acknowledged the ongoing, generational impacts of residential schools.
"We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow," he said. "Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry."
 Undated photo of a residential schools near Woodstock, NB. (William James Topley / Library and Archives Canada) |
Known as the generational effect of the schools, it is the lesser-told story. Many children who never set foot in one have grown up with parents who never learned that children need hugs. Some grew up with parents and relatives who learned the ways of abuse at the schools.
"You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey," Mr. Harper concluded. "The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of aboriginal peoples for failing them so badly."
Unlike Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in his apology to aboriginals in February, Mr. Harper made no promises to improve aboriginal social conditions.
Instead, he pointed to the 2006 out-of-court settlement and the five-year truth and reconciliation commission on residential schools as examples of government action.
The opposition leaders had their say, offering sentiments similar to those of the Prime Minister. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP Leader Jack Layton each won applause with jabs at the Conservatives for refusing to endorse the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
When the politicians had finished, five aboriginal leaders who were seated in a circle on the floor of the House of Commons with six former residential school students were given the unprecedented opportunity to stand in the middle of the room and speak.
In full native headdress, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine went first. A victim of residential school abuse himself, he pulled no punches.
"Brave survivors, through the telling of their painful stories, have stripped white supremacy of its authority and legitimacy," he said. "The memories of residential schools sometimes cut like merciless knives at our souls. This day will help us to put that pain behind us."
When Inuit Tapiriit leader Mary Simon spoke, she turned to face the Prime Minister directly.
"I wanted to demonstrate to you that our language and culture is still strong," she said in Inuktitut, thanking Mr. Harper for having the courage to apologize. "There have been times in this long journey when I despaired that this would never happen. But after listening to the Prime Minister and the leaders of the political parties, I'm filled with hope and compassion for my fellow aboriginal Canadians."
The Prime Minister's message of healing was undercut yesterday by one of his own MPs, who spoke sarcastically of the size of the residential schools settlement on talk radio.
"Along with this apology comes another four billion dollars in compensation for those who partook in the residential schools," said Tory MP Pierre Poilievre, adding dramatic emphasis to the $4-billion, during an appearance on CFRA Radio just before the apology. "Some of us are starting to ask, are we really getting value for all of this money and is money really going to solve the problem?"
Last night, Mr. Poilievre issued a statement about his comments.
"I stated that aboriginals deserve protection under Canada's human-rights laws and that the record dollars that the government is spending on aboriginals should reach the people in need," the e-mailed statement said.
On the grounds of Parliament Hill, the apology was well received by the couple of hundred people gathered to watch history on a giant video screen. Some were aboriginal, some were not. A few cried and hugged each other, but most watched in sombre silence.
Lance Migwans brought his four-year-old son, Braiden, to Ottawa from Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron to hear the apology.
"Everything that has happened still trickles down to our children, and will trickle down to his children and maybe his grandchildren," he said brushing the top of Braiden's head.
Julie Marion was also outside the Centre Block to hear the apology. Her mother and aunts all attended residential schools.
Ms. Marion, garbed in a traditional buckskin dress, said there was no one willing to teach her the ways of her Mi'kmaq culture and she was warned as a child not to tell people she was Indian. She was forced to learn the traditions herself as an adult.
"It has been a very long time that the elders have been waiting for this," she said quietly. "I am surprised that they are actually telling the truth about some of the things that have happened."