Mr. Speaker, yesterday Prime Minister Stephen Harper did something that no other Prime Minister did before him. He stood in the House of Commons and formally apologized for the government’s role in the assimilation of aboriginal people.
I was especially interested — and I watched a few clips afterward — in the reaction of a lot of the aboriginal leaders and a lot of those who went through the residential school system. Many said that while the apology was good, it will never do anything to close the door on this part of our history, but they were glad to see the government formally acknowledge they played a large part, and this would help them on the difficult road they have to healing.
I was especially impressed yesterday with a couple of Members from this House who spoke very passionately about their experiences in going through the residential school system. If you want to bring out the emotion in a lot of aboriginals, you bring up the residential school system and it seems to happen. I spent a few months in the hostel. I was nine years old. I ran away too much, so they just gave up on me at the end. But you see, I had the luxury of having family in the community that I could run away to. A lot of these folks didn’t have that opportunity. They were taken from home. I know of
an elder from the Yukon who was taken away from home at six years old and didn’t see his hometown again until he was 15. This was in the early days of the residential school system.
I went to school with a lot of these people. I played hockey with them. Some of my best friends today were from the residential school system. So there was some sliver of good that came out of that.
This is a reason we’ve had so many suicides and addictions and family problems. We can’t blame it all on residential schools, but it had a large part to play in it, because it took a lot away from a lot of people.
I admire the resiliency of so many people who went through this. They’ve gone through the rough times that came along with it. They’ve changed their lives. They’ve turned it around. These are the people who know the value of treatment and addictions treatment. They are the ones who are continually pushing for treatment in the home community.
Mr.
Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to
conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.