Why Canada Can’t Just Move On
Photo credit: https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/02/19/pm-heat-opposition-wetsuweten-crisis/
Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to build relationships with Indigenous communities and individuals who have taught me a lot about forgiveness, resilience, justice, patience, and perseverance. I’ve learned about the history of Canada in ways that I never did while growing up in school, and I’ve seen some of the lasting consequences of colonialism on the first peoples of this land.
But though it all, amid all the positive progress we’ve seen, there’s been a consistent voice that’s challenged the work of reconciliation. In it’s most positive form, the voice says, “We’re sorry for what happened in the past, but we aren’t personally responsible. Colonization was how the world worked back then. Canada has apologized and we’re not the same anymore. We just need to move on.” Unfortunately, this is as tame as it gets.
Whether it comes from a place of hope for a better future, or bitterness and frustration, I believe there’s a persistent Canadian longing to simply move on. We would like to forget about our past and start fresh as one united Canada. It’s an understandable goal, but we’re constantly reminded that the foundation needed for us to reach that goal hasn’t been actualized in our country.
Over the last few months, the news of the Wet’suwet’en blockades in order to prevent the building of a natural gas pipeline on their unseeded territory has reached national and even international attention. It’s caused massive unrest across Canada and, as in most politically charged situations, everyone seems to have an opinion about what to do. Mennonite Church Canada released a great document of resources to help understand the situation - the background, what the law actually says, what the involvement of Coastal Gaslink has been, and what we can do about it.
Just last week, we heard news of the Mi’kmaw fisheries under attack in Nova Scotia. Violence and intimidation on behalf of settler fishers violate the treaty (and therefore constitutional) rights of the Mi’kmaw to fish for a moderate livelihood. People all over the world have been calling Canada to uphold our treaties and to protect Indigenous rights. There are many great resources out there about this, including these by APTN and CBC.
Why can’t we just move on? The answer stands right before us. Canada’s response to Indigenous communities in the past and present reveals to us that we aren’t ready (or interested) in true reconciliation.
Canada was built with a modern colonial framework. It’s been deeply engrained in our DNA ever since settlers first arrived on Turtle Island. We may have given the impression that we wanted to live in an equal relationship with the people who were here before us, but the allure of land, resources, and power was too much for us. Promises were made that were never kept. It soon became clear that Canada’s intention was to assimilate Indigenous people into our country.
Although we can question people’s intentions for being involved, we can’t deny that residential schools, the 60's and 70’s scoops, and other assimilation tactics are historical realities. We intentionally tried to “kill the Indian in the child” in order to kill the Indian altogether. But that was the past, right?
The narrative that most Canadians hear is that we apologized for what happened in the past. And officially, Canada did, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper read a statement in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008 to apologize for the Indian Residential School System. As part of the apology, Harper recognized some significant things:
“The legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today . . . There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system to ever again prevail."
Everywhere you look, politicians are talking about reconciliation. We have all kinds of new statements and declarations that are trying to move us into that direction. The BC government even became the first province to adopt the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Two of its articles state that:
“Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.” (Article 4)
“Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.” (Article 10)
We may say all the right things in official apologies. We may adopt legislation that seeks to bring about reconciliation. But when tensions rise and our interests become threatened, our true colours show. Situations like the Wet’suwet’en land defence and the Mi’kmaw fisheries attack remind us that although treaties are constitutionally protected, we can easily turn a blind eye to them when we want to, especially since we are the ones who hold the power. That is systemic injustice at its finest.
As long as Indigenous communities are self-contain and don’t mess with our lives, we’re okay to let them be. We are fine with substandard living conditions on reserves and we don’t really care how our actions affect their economic opportunities. But when they stand in the way of our way of life, we will use force, break the law, and revert back to the same attitudes that made the residential schools possible. Reconciliation turns to “us versus them” very quickly.
“We may talk the talk, make apologies, and pass declarations, but when the walk doesn’t match the talk, words lose their meaning.”
We may talk the talk, make apologies, and pass declarations, but when the walk doesn’t match the talk, words lose their meaning. Our actions as Canadians reveal the true heart of Canada. That heart, I believe, isn’t as interested in true reconciliation as we claim it to be. Reconciliation requires both sides to move forward in respectful relationship while acknowledging and addressing past harm. Instead, it seems like Canadian settlers are willing to play along to be politically correct, but we then we stop playing and go home once we realize what it means for us to live out our responsibility.
And that’s why we can’t just move on. Reconciliation is hard work, and the current events in Canada is showing us that we haven’t figured it out yet. It’s not simply about forgiving and starting fresh. We can’t ”just move on.” We need to keep working for reconciliation holistically and with integrity - realizing that what is required from us is an uprooting that will certainly make us uncomfortable. But without it, we will never be able to truly move forward.