The newly elected Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has promised full reconciliation with the country’s Indigenous people after a report detailed decades of abuse.
The final report tabled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission described a school system which separated Indigenous children from their families in a deliberate attempt to rid them of their “Indian” culture.
Mr Trudeau says he wants his government to take fully responsibility for the government’s historical treatment of Indigenous people which resulted in cultural genocide.
He says Canada is seeking the forgiveness of the Aboriginal people for failing them so badly.
Mr Trudeau is already advancing a nation-to-nation relationship based on rights, respect, cooperation and partnership. Canada is also working on a national reconciliation framework with Indigenous leaders similar to Australia’s recent appointment of a Referendum Council.
Mr Trudeau has announced his government will follow all of the report recommendations, starting with implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Image: AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde presents a blanket to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Courtesy of CBC.