Six years worth of stories, of talks, of understanding and of sifting through facts ended this past month as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held an emotionally charged closing ceremony in Ottawa.
At the end of its six-year mandate, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came up with 94 calls to action to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.”
The recommendations touch on a range of topics, from law and justice, to child welfare reform, to education, to protection of language and culture and more.
Many of the calls to action make practical sense, as a means of improving the lives of First Nations people and the country as a whole. Who could say that improving infant mortality rates on aboriginal communities or addressing and preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are not laudable goals?
Responding to these calls to action can’t and won’t happen overnight, but the government does need to affirm its commitment to the recommendations. Building more prisons to house more aboriginal offenders is not a solution to the problems facing First Nations communities and individuals that have yet to recover from the impact of their traumatic history.
In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a historic apology for the history of residential schools, a move that was welcomed by First Nations people.
The apology was an important step from the government. It marks the change, as President Barack Obama once expressed, from presenting a closed fist to extending an open hand to Canada’s indigenous people.
Now the government must follow up the apology with real action to produce results for reconciliation, healing, and a better country for us all.
