Parliament's best day

Those who were able to view the four party apologies of Canada’s Parliament couldn’t help but be moved by what they saw.

With a circle of aboriginal leaders in front of them, Canada’s national leaders have finally, formally said what needed to be said of our collective guilt for the racism and degradation suffered by our first peoples at the hands of the church and the state in the shame of our residential school policy.

I was impressed by the quality and sincerity of the speeches. Parliament should be the place where great speeches are given, where, to the extent that words can get things done, the best words are spoken. The prime minister spoke first, revealing a degree of compassion not typically associated with his policies and commitments. But as he spoke, I found myself thinking of how far the decency of Chuck Strahl has moved him on this issue.

Stéphane Dion spoke very well, indeed, not only acknowledging his party’s sad history on the residential schools, but also speaking much more precisely about the suffering inflicted upon the lives of our friends and neighbours in the aboriginal community. While those who have suffered are the best judges of such matters, apologies are best when they don’t hide from the force of the wrongdoing, and when they address the actual terms of the wrongdoing rather than generalize.

While the event transcended the partisan politics of the day, it didn’t do so completely, with Harper crediting Jack Layton with his motivation to deliver the apology, encouraging us to believe that only the NDP are worthy opponents of the Conservatives -- a ploy that serves their electoral chances well.

And it was political in the speech of M. Duceppe, whose sovereigntist movement has never been a true friend of the Cree, Mohawk, or Innu, those who had prospered on the land of la belle province for thousands of years before the arrival of Champlain.

Though there is evidence that some of the Quebecois treated the first nations’ people with greater humanity than others did.

Not without irony

Duceppe, who also spoke from the heart, indicating how far he had come in seeing the suffering of aboriginal Canadians as the tailings of colonialism, used the “nation to nation” metaphor to indicate how the future needs to be played out, a vision that, he believes, serves both the interests of sovereigntists and aboriginal communities.

The event was not without its ironies. As Layton spoke through tearful eyes, one couldn’t help but think about how his decision to bring down the Martin government has significantly forestalled the very resources that our first nations will need to restore, to rebuild a cultural integrity that was destroyed by centuries of our avarice and our contempt.

The most important part of the event, one forced by the Senate, was the inclusion of aboriginal speeches from the floor of the House, setting forever in the record of the nation the dignity and generosity of spirit of our aboriginal citizens. That words of apology were given is important, that tears were shed in shame and remembrance was necessary, but plainly both are far from sufficient. What matters, plainly, is action and the sort of transformation of political culture and public policy that will be necessary if we are to redress these wrongs.

The challenges of repairing the damage of the past treatment of aboriginal peoples around the world are perhaps the most difficult we face as 21st century citizens. If I claimed to understand all of what will be needed, I would be fooling myself.

We have had many false starts, many fine words. But to give up or rest too easily on this journey will mean that we never really mature as a nation, or realize our full humanity. And while Parliament can do much, some of what needs to be done is in the lives of each of us. Perhaps we might begin, the next time we hear derogatory words spoken or insinuated about aboriginal communities, or the next time their interests are ignored, by standing up and having the courage to say, loudly, so all can hear: shame on you.

The next election will be about many things. The things I’ll be looking for are the precise commitments of our parties to redress this injustice of our history.