Residential school survivors need the federal government to have their backs: NDP

The NDP Critic for Crown-Indigenous Relations, Lori Idlout, made the following statement:

"First Nations, Métis and Inuit have lived with the impact and legacy of residential schools for generations. Unfortunately for many survivors and their families, the Canadian government and religious institutions have been withholding documents that deny them truth and justice from the genocide that they experienced. Canada has a moral obligation to release all documents related to residential schools to provide the whole truth of what took place in these institutions of genocide.

While we recognize that today’s Memorandum of Agreement is an historic undertaking and a significant step forward, the federal government should have taken this action much, much earlier. When he was elected in 2015, Justin Trudeau said his goal was for his government to 'accept fully our responsibilities – and our failings – as a government and as a nation' on residential schools. However, survivors have been made to wait for these documents for years and, this past October, Justin Trudeau wrongly stated that all the documents had been turned over to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

It’s about time that this government finally kept their promises and got serious about reconciliation.

New Democrats will continue to support the work of survivors, their families, their communities, and their advocates to make sure that they receive the documents they need to get justice from the genocide they’ve lived through. We will continue to fight for Indigenous communities who continue to live through the impacts of residential schools and genocide – including ensuring access to clean drinking water, health and mental health care, and culturally appropriate education for youth and young people. Indigenous communities have done a great job relying on their own communities and we acknowledge the great work the volunteers do in serving their own counselling services. It's time the Liberal government also had their backs."