Ontario Apologizes for Residential Schools

Premier Kathleen Wynne apologized today on behalf of the Government of Ontario for the brutalities committed for generations at residential schools and the continued harm this abuse has caused to Indigenous cultures, communities, families and individuals.

The Premier made her Statement of Ontario's Commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in the Legislative Assembly, with residential school survivors and First Nation, Métis and Inuit leaders in attendance. She apologized for the policies and practices supported by past Ontario governments, and the harm they caused; for the province's silence in the face of abuse and death at residential schools; and for residential schools being only one example of systemic intergenerational abuses and injustices inflicted upon Indigenous communities throughout Canada.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said: “I acknowledge the Premier’s apology for Ontario’s role in the Indian Residential School system and her recognition of the intergenerational injustices the legacy of this abuse has inflicted on our people, many of whom are still suffering today,” said NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, who attended the announcement at Queen’s Park this morning. “The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes many excellent recommendations to repair the relationship between Indigenous people and the rest of Canada and we welcome this government’s commitment to their implementation. I am encouraged by the Premier’s commitment to reconciliation and hope this represents a starting point for a new relationship to bring about meaningful improvements in the quality of life for our people.”

The Premier's apology is part of the government's response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Final Report, released one year ago. Ontario is taking action to acknowledge one of the most shameful chapters in Canadian history and teach a new generation the truth about our shared history. The province released an action plan today -- developed working closely with Indigenous partners -- that will help Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples move forward in a spirit of reconciliation.

The Journey Together: Ontario's Commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples plans to invest more than $250 million over three years in new initiatives in five areas:

• Understanding the legacy of residential schools: The province will ensure that Ontarians develop a shared understanding of our histories and address the overt and systemic racism that Indigenous people continue to face

• Closing gaps and removing barriers: Ontario will address the social and economic challenges that face Indigenous communities after centuries of colonization and discrimination

• Creating a culturally relevant and responsive justice system: The province will improve the justice system for Indigenous people by closing service gaps and ensuring the development and availability of community-led restorative justice programs

• Supporting Indigenous culture: Ontario will celebrate and promote Indigenous languages and cultures that were affected after generations of Indigenous children were sent to residential schools

• Reconciling relationships with Indigenous Peoples: The province will support the rebuilding of relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through trust, mutual respect and shared benefits.

Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day on behalf of the Political Confederacy and the Chiefs of Ontario issued this statement in the Ontario legislature today regarding the Ontario’s Statement of Reconciliation:

“Today, we journey together toward the Restoration of the rights originally recognized through sacred and binding Treaties with our Ancestors; and Reparation of lives of First Nation People damaged by Indian Residential Schools in Ontario.

We are here today on the traditional land of the Mississaugas of New Credit. This is a land walked upon and shared by so many Peoples from so many Indigenous Nations. We are the Anishinabek, Mushkegowuk, Onkwehonwe, and Lenape — the First Peoples of Turtle Island. This is our land -- Ontario – land of blue waters.

We stand here today in the presence of the Spirits of our ancestors. In the presence of the Spirits of those leaders who signed the Treaty of Niagara in 1764; the Lake Superior and Lake Huron Treaties, the Williams Treaties, and the numbered Treaties; and in the presence of the Chiefs and Grand Chiefs who are descendants, and who represent this unbroken line connecting our Peoples to this present day relationship with the originating colonists – the Ontario Citizen today; and the settler kin of the Métis People.

We also stand in the presence of the troubled Spirits of our children, our youth, our sisters, mothers and grandmothers. Far too many have taken their lives – or have had their lives stolen. Far too many continue to suffer under poverty and despair not of their choosing – not of their wish or desire but as a sustained result of colonization deception of Peace and Friendship – unfortunately here in the province of Ontario.

As we stand in the presence of our Residential School survivors; we are reminded of a system meant to kill the Indian in the child. Not only have they suffered unspeakable abuse, their children and grandchildren have also suffered. How terribly sad, that this horrible legacy continues to impact our present generations, as so evident in the current suicide crisis of our children and youth. The vast majority of us as First Nation People across this land can speak of the direct impacts of this dark legacy – yes many of us have lived in the direct darkness and shadows of the evil that was so evident in so many of those schools.