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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-08-31, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017. PAGE 5. Other Views This discussion's necessary The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario set off a national debate last week when it approved a resolution that called for the name of Sir John A. Macdonald to be removed from all schools. The teachers felt that honouring the prime minister who oversaw the creation of the residential school system was a hurtful insult to any Indigenous student who had to attend a school bearing that name. That view has sparked lots of push -back and debate about our history. The fiery discussion has probably made more Canadians think about their history than at any time in recent years. Probably very few had ever thought about the origins of the system that forcefully took Indigenous students from their families and homes and took them many miles away to residential schools where they were forbidden to use their own languages. They knew Sir. John A. Macdonald as the first prime minister of the political union known today as Canada but they hadn't thought that, as leader of the government, he was responsible for beginning that system that many label today as cultural genocide. Acknowledging the harm perpetrated on generations of Indigenous students and the ongoing problems created by this abuse is the first step needed in the truth and reconciliation process. Recognizing the part played in the creation of this abusive system by our political leaders must be part of the painful process of accepting the truth of our country's guilt. There will be pain involved in re-evaluating our sense of the justness of our society. This recognition was the first goal of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which operated from 2008 to 2015 and heard stories from thousands of victims of Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk the system and the ongoing ramifications of the harm done to them. The commission was inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation process instituted in South Africa after Nelson Mandela became the first black president of the country following the overthrow of the murderous apartheid system of separating races. The wise Mandela realized that, tempting as it was, blacks gaining revenge on their white oppressors (and in some cases murderers and torturers), would not move South Africa ahead. He needed a process to heal his country as quickly as possible and move on to get the different races working together. His government adopted a process of public hearings for people to tell their stories of the abuse they had suffered under apartheid, in some cases facing their abusers. These perpetrators of violence could also give testimony, admit their guilt and request amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution. The process in South Africa occurred after the black Africans had assumed power and were in a position to grant forgiveness. In Canada, the victims of residential school abuse have little power. Many still live in poverty, often without even clean drinking water. Finding work on isolated reserves is often impossible. Too few resources are devoted to schools and housing. The rest of Canadian society has a lot of work to do before the "reconciliation" part of truth and reconciliation can take place. But it must happen as some point if our country is to become whole. We cannot undo the last 400 years and send all the "settlers" back to Europe and Africa and Asia. As in Nelson Mandela's vision, we must find ways for all people to work together so we can utilize all of our individual potentials and maximize our personal fulfillment. And at some point, that's going to require forgiveness of figures like Sir John A. Macdonald. We can see now that the residential school system was wrong- headed and trying to strip people of their language and culture was cruel but we may be attributing evil intentions to a man who was trying to find a solution as to how to find a future for Indigenous people within a dominant society far different than their traditional world. If we can't forgive our ancestors, while fully recognizing their faults, we're not going to have many statues or honour many people for the good things they've done. I'm currently reading a memoir by Nelly McClung, a feminist hero who is portrayed in the Famous Five statue on Parliament Hill for her part in the historic "persons" case. But she also believed in the compulsory sterilization of the mentally challenged so they couldn't reproduce, something for which, someday, someone may demand her statue's removal. The truth and reconciliation process must begin with admitting the truth about people like Macdonald and about "settler" society's abuses of Indigenous peoples. It must continue with righting as many of these wrongs as possible. Eventually, it must also include the granting of forgiveness for past wrongs. History is not for the thin -of -skin Anyone who opens a history book is likely going to find themselves face- to-face with bigotry, racism and a plethora of other negative character attributes from some of the most memorable men and women in the world. Whether it's a politician like a Canadian Prime Minister or a soldier fighting a war, we look back and see that people made mistakes that can often be attributed to their time and place. The important thrust of this is we cannot erase the good they did because of the time they lived in. Heck, you don't even have to look beyond modern history to find people trying to do the right thing but being plagued by what would later be considered inappropriate behaviour. In my lifetime alone I've seen the "proper" name to call peoples of different origins change more than a dozen times. Of course this is inspired by the push to try and have the name of Sir John A. Macdonald removed from school buildings, but it could easily be attributed to any number of people who have buildings named after them or statues dedicated to them for that matter. For example, nearly every single Prime Minister of Canada has a school named after them and you can bet that Macdonald wasn't the only one to say or do things or enact laws that we look back on now as being misguided at best and racist at worst. It's easy to look at what Macdonald did and say we should erase his name from places of honour, but, as most politicians will tell you, a lot of the decisions that are made are made with the information or situation provided to them. Take our current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example. It wasn't that long ago that people were calling foul for his government paying $10.5 million and apologizing to Omar Khadr. Trudeau didn't have a choice, as far as the money was concerned. A precedent had been set by his predecessor, Prime Minister Stephen Harper who had to pay out $11.5 million to Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was tortured in Syria. When the government makes a mistake, it apologizes and, often as an alternative to a long legal battle that will consume the media, pay out money based on negotiations with the individual's lawyers. Undoubtedly the decision wasn't made by Trudeau alone — information was provided to him encouraging him to do what was necessary to stop the legal battle from unfolding. Personally, I don't feel that any government should be able to be sued for the actions of a previously sitting government. The individuals who were part of that previous government should be the only people held financially responsible for those decisions. However, to bring this back to point, Khadr's $10.5 million `pay -out' may or may not, depending on how our culture evolves, be looked at as something Trudeau should be praised or condemned for, only time will tell. Macdonald came into power during a tumultuous time for Canada. The nation was just coming into being and dealing with the decisions of the British Empire, you know, the people who sent the original settlers over here, made the deals with many of the Indigenous people that would come to be broken and then was so happy to see Canada become independent it didn't even make us violently oppose them like our neighbours to the south. Nova Scotia was threatening to leave Canada, citizens were moving to the United States due to a lack of economic growth and most of what is now Canada was still British colonies. Macdonald wasn't just making history, he was blazing a trail that was completely unique in history and it wasn't inevitable that not every decision was going to be popular or the right one. Should we, therefore, take his name down because he acted as he best thought at the time? No. The reason we honour the man is because he set Canada on the path that it's on now and I don't necessarily think, despite those who would argue against it, the path is that bad of one. We can't ignore the history of an individual like Macdonald but that doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater. While some people have gone so far as to call him a villain, he was trying to make sure a fledgling nation survived and had to make difficult decisions to make it so. I suppose, most importantly, you can find dirt on every historical politician. However, it strikes me as odd that Ontario teachers are at the forefront of this mission to rename schools as Ontario elected Macdonald. When it comes to historical politicians in a democratic society, the old adage proves true: when you point at them for their flaws, you have four fingers pointing back at yourself. If you think Macdonald wasn't representing the nation's best interest, you have to realize that he and his party were given majorities by voters (more than once). And yes, not everyone had the right to vote for him, but you can't blame one man for the attitudes of an entire society and epoch. Shawn Loughlin Shawn's Sense A view askew Jt goes without saying that the thoughts and prayers of many are with those in Houston. The images coming out of one of the United States of America's biggest cities have been harrowing and disturbing. There are, most certainly, shades of Hurricane Katrina — the powerful storm that battered New Orleans in 2005 — and it picks at the scab that is raw with many as people like U.S. President Donald Trump try to make the case that climate change isn't real. As absurd as what's happening from that angle is, that's not what I wanted to focus on this week. It's how the people of Houston can join in solidarity with those in New Orleans in 2005 in being forgotten. This time, though, it's a different form of being forgotten. In 2005, President George W. Bush notoriously waited days to send aid into New Orleans. And by the time he did, it was too late for many. In an odd twist of fate, we actually have Kanye West, one of the most self-centred people alive, to thank for Bush's response. When West shocked his Katrina telethon co - presenter, Mike Myers, by confidently declaring that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" it spurred a response from the then -president and the cavalry came for New Orleans shortly thereafter. Whether or not it's true that Bush doesn't care about black people, in that situation, and with West telling it like it was, perception was reality. And, in that moment, many in the U.S. felt Bush didn't care about black people (the majority of the New Orleans population) so because people agreed with West, what he said became fact. In Houston, as people die, suffer and get displaced by flooding that is said to be a once - in -500 -years event, there is aid on the ground, but their president is using Twitter to knock around some of his familiar punching bags. In the early hours of the devastation, he has posted about the need for the U.S./Mexico wall due to Mexico's crime rate and how bad of a trade deal the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is. Only after being badgered for ignoring the biggest natural disaster of his presidency thus far (not counting the actual presidency itself, of course) has he posted about the flooding and the ongoing emergency response effort. It's hard to get into the mindset of someone who puts his political agenda before the suffering of others. Some of what Trump has done has made people laugh, it has made people uncomfortable, it's made people upset and it's made people angry. But something like this, knowing that regular Americans, not so different from those who suffered from natural disasters like flooding in Calgary, wild fires out west or even the tornado in Goderich, are suffering while Trump sits on his phone and promotes an impossible fantasy with its roots firmly planted in racism is simply heartbreaking. The good news is that, in the wake of Trump's lack of action, care, compassion, etc. many have reached out to donate millions and millions to the relief effort that is ongoing in Texas. There truly is a rainbow for every cloud and it's often provided by regular people when those in power can't be trusted to do the right thing. So, those in Houston can perhaps feel a tiny bit better about their situation, knowing that even if their president doesn't care about them, millions of people around the world do and they didn't even need Kanye West to shame them into it.