Truth and Reconciliation – It is Up to All of Us

(June 3, 2015  Opinion-Editorial submitted to Toronto Star)
By Avvy Go and Debbie Douglas

Justice Murray Sinclair is absolutely right when he declares that Reconciliation is not an Aboriginal problem. It is a Canadian problem.

As Canadians, we bask in the glory that Canada, as a multicultural society, respects the rights of all people who live in Canada.  With the majority of Canadians enjoying a decent standard of living, most Canadians believe that our fundamental rights are by and large respected by our government and protected by the law.

Notwithstanding our reputation – or perhaps because of it – we often turn a blind eye to the injustices that have been perpetrated against – and continue to be imposed upon – certain segments of our population, chief among them are the Indigenous peoples and communities of colour.

The interim report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) forces us to open our eyes to a dark chapter of Canadian history.  It is a call to action – not only for the Canadian Government, but for all Canadians – both individually and collectively – to seek the truth and to redress historical wrongs.

But almost immediately and not unexpectedly, the TRC Report is met with resistance.  The Federal Government's initial response is to deflect any blame and delay making any commitment to implementing the 94 recommendations by adopting a “wait and see” approach.  Their tactic, troublingly, is aided and abetted by those of us who continue to deny the legacy of Residential Schools and its link to the present day inequities, disparities and outright tragedies facing Indigenous Peoples: the missing and murdered Indigenous women, the disproportionately high level of poverty among First Peoples communities, the all too prevalent boil water advisories and other deplorable living conditions on reserves; First Peoples over-representation in the criminal justice system; and the list goes on.

One of the biggest hurdles facing the TRC is to convince non-Indigenous Canadians that we have just as much a stake in seeing that its recommendations get implemented.

While we do not purport to have a magic wand that could wave away the daunting challenge that the Commission has placed before all Canadians, let us offer a few thoughts with a view to motivating all our sisters and brothers of whatever background and heritage, but particularly those from communities of colour, into action:

First, those of us who did not know about the history of Residential Schools – and all the other dimensions of the policies and programs of “cultural genocide” – before the release of the TRC report can no longer maintain our ignorance.  Our silence going forward could be construed to mean we acquiesce to this horrific injustice and its resulting and long-lasting impact on Indigenous peoples.

Second, like the Indigenous Peoples, many communities of colour have also experienced injustices throughout our history in what is now Canada.  The racist Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act, the continuous journey policy and the Komagata Maru incident, our historical involvement in slavery and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, the Japanese Canadian internment and deportation of Buddhist clergy are but a few examples.  We do understand first-hand the destruction caused by colonization and institutionalized racism and faithism, and the important role history plays in driving present day inequalities. It should therefore not be a stretch for us to extend our understanding to the Indigenous context.

Third, we also have a shared history with the Indigenous communities, of legally sanctioned discrimination.  Many of the laws passed at the turn of the 20th century to disenfranchise peoples of colour, or otherwise restrict their social, economic and political rights, were applied with equal or greater force to the Indigenous population at the time. 

Fourth, as settlers, we too are implicated in the actions taken by Canada to appropriate Indigenous lands and partake in the benefits to the colonizers.  While we may have been and may now be unwilling participants in the ongoing colonization project, we nevertheless have an obligation to acknowledge that reality and to work towards a just resolution.

It is for those reasons and more, that over a year ago, our respective organizations and the Ontario Human Rights Commission came together to support the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission by holding a public forum and by signing a Joint Statement – A Commitment to Truth, Justice and Reconciliation. The Statement reads, in part:

“As Canadians, we share a vision for Canada as one which promises fairness, respect, justice, equality and prosperity for everyone on these lands and territories.  We believe that the first critical step towards realizing that vision is by rebuilding and renewing relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians through a process of reconciliation that fully honours our respective roles as Treaty Peoples.” 

As we embark on this shared journey of truth, justice and reconciliation, we must work together to ensure that the work of the TRC will be honoured and its recommendations will be fully implemented.  In doing so we can begin by educating ourselves and our fellow Canadians about the effects and intergenerational and contemporary legacy of the Residential Schools and other efforts at cultural genocide, and the many other historical and present-day injustices as experienced by communities of colour.

Avvy Go is Clinic Director of Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. Debbie Douglas is Executive Director of OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. Both are founding Steering Committee members of Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Joint Statements: A Commitment to Truth, Justice and Reconciliation / Un engagement envers la vérité, la justice et la réconciliation