An early 20th century photo of the cemetery associated with the St. Mary’s IRS, Kenora, Ontario, showing wooden grave markers of students that were allowed to disintegrate over time, proving that students were given a proper Christian (Catholic) burial.
“We must protect the truth.” That’s what Kimberly Murray gave as her motive for demanding those she called “residential school deniers” be criminally prosecuted or subjected to civil liability for raising questions about unmarked graves and other related topics that Murray and her colleagues find uncomfortable. Murray believes anyone who questions claims made by anyone who attended a residential school about unmarked graves, or who claims that anything positive came from residential schools should fall into this criminally and civilly punishable “denier” category.
But there are problems with this.
In the first place, if saying that anything positive came from residential school attendance is a crime, it would put many indigenous people who attended residential schools in legal jeopardy — even the people who wrote the Truth and Reconciliation Report. Because even that report contains a section titled “Warm Memories” that contains only positive accounts of indigenous residential school attendees who remember their years at residential school fondly, and credit their school attendance for their success in life.
That section is short, but there are hundreds of other personal accounts — and even entire books — of people who speak of how their attendance changed their lives for the better. The best book written by a residential school attendee is “Permanent Astonishment” by acclaimed indigenous playwright, writer and pianist Tomson Highway. In the book, Highway describes his experience at the Guy Hill Residential School in northern Manitoba as “nine of the best years of my life” during which he not only acquired the skills he needed to become an internationally acclaimed author, but learned to play the first piano he had ever seen, and developed his skills to a professional level. Many other important indigenous leaders received the educations that equipped them to succeed at residential schools.
So, if merely stating the truth — namely that some people benefited from their residential school experience — becomes a criminal offence, expect to see some of Canada’s most successful indigenous leaders in the criminal dock.
But there are other problems as well, because Kimberly Murray wants to criminalize anyone who raises questions about what residential school “survivors” have claimed to be the truth. Readers will recall that two years ago the Kamloops chief and her colleagues claimed that 215 graves had been discovered containing the remains of 215 children who had died under sinister circumstances at the school, and who had been secretly buried — with the forced help of six year olds. Almost immediately copy-cat claims followed, with allegations that there were thousands of such “missing children” buried all across the country.
Senior indigenous leaders weighed in with allegations that there were “tens of thousands” and “25,000-maybe more” such “missing children.” ‘Survivors’ claimed they had personally observed priests clubbing indigenous children to death and throwing them into pits; that dead indigenous children were hung on meat hooks in barns; that the bodies of indigenous children were “tossed into rivers, lakes and streams,” and even that Queen Elizabeth herself had kidnapped ten indigenous children from the Kamloops School.
But if Kimberly Murray gets her way, and anyone who questions any of these claims becomes a criminal, they had better start building more jails. Because there is not a single shred of evidence that would stand up in any court that any of those fantastical claims are true. Never mind “thousands” there is no credible evidence that even one single child was murdered or secretly buried at any residential school. And it is now almost certain that the 215 “soil disturbances” detected at the Kamloops school were not graves at all, but were from previous excavations on the school grounds.
The “survivors” who made the false claims might believe that they are true. But they are not. And the fact that these stories have circulated in indigenous communities for years does not make them true.
So, Kimberly Murray’s demand that anyone who refuses to accept her odd version of reality must become a criminal will go the way of most expensively produced government reports — sitting on a dusty shelf.
Murray is right about one thing — “We must protect the truth.” Indeed. But we do that not by making criminals of those who ask questions. Instead, we welcome those questions.
Indian Lobbyist Wants to Make Questioning Residential School Claims A Criminal Offence & Justice Lametti Seems to Agree
In this age, victimhood is a prize commodity.. With it, a group can induce guilt into tenderhearted Europeans and with guilt comes entitlement and money. The organized Jewish lobby from the 1970s on, used the story of their sufferings in World War II — the so-called holocaust — to pry immense sums of money from Germany. (Germany just allocated another $1.5-billion to survivors. It’s been 78 years since the end of WW II!)
Guilt, though is a useful tool. The press is immensely sympathetic to Jewish interests. Canadians are meant to feel guilty about the so-called holocaust even though it didn’t happen here, it didn’t happen to Canadians, and Canada didn’t do it. Indeed, Canada fought against those who caused Jewish suffering.
Nevertheless, we have Holocaust Remembrance Day and Month and a Holocaust Monument. So powerful has this guilt tripping been that the holocaust has become almost a religion imposed by Western elites that sneer at Christianity.
However, there were soon pesky questions challenging the numbers and many other claims of the victim narrative from some former detention camp inmates (Rassinier), from scientists (Leuchter, Butz, Faurrison, Luftl, Rudolf) and historians (Irving) The power of the guilt message depends on emotionalism. Rational questions are disruptive.
So, the victim group demands that any questioning of its victim narrative be silenced or criminalized. Questioning the Hollywood version of World War II can get you five years in prison in Germany and many other European countries.Last year, Trudeau, he who smashed the peaceful Truckers’ Freedom Convoy with the Emergencies Act and who is no friend of free speech, snuck amendments into the budget criminalizing holocaust denial. No Member of Parliament opposed this gutting of free speech. The holocaust is now an imposed state religion in Canada. It is beyond historical or scientific discussion or skepticism. It must be believed, if one is doubtful, the skeptic must keep silent.
Well, now a spokesman for another entitled group, native Indians, is demanding that questioners of that group’s guilt narrative be silenced.
The guilt narrative suggests that Europeans abused and dispossessed the native people. oF COURSE, there certainly were frictions in the relations between the European founding/settler people of Canada and Native Indians.
The residential schools set up to educate Indian children — to help move them from the Stone Age to the edge of the Modern Age in one generation — were really attempts at genocide, oh, well, not real genocide, but cultural genocide, according to former Chief Justice Beverley McLaughlin. The Harper Government apologized and shovelled out billions of dollars in compensation. The the guilt just keeps on giving. Trudeau has flung more money under various guises to Indians. Then, two years ago a propaganda bonanza occurred. The Kamloops band said that ground penetrating radar had found what might have been 216 graves near a former residential school. The press was is full guilt-mongering propaganda mode. The finding was dubbed “mass graves”, suggesting an undignified one-time burial, perhaps even extermination. Two years later, no further investigation has occurred. Are there even graves there; if so, who is in those graves and how, if it can be determined, did they die?
The irrational guiltmongering allowed the wrecking crew who hate Old Stock Canadians et quebecois de souche to tear down statues including of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, to rename buildings and even institutions. Ryerson University, named after the father of education in Ontario, was renamed Metropolitan University and a statue of Egerton Ryerson was vandalized and beheaded. The head was later found on the Six Nations Reservation near Brantford. No charges were laid. Over 50 Christian churches were vandalized or destroyed or damaged by arson. Belatedly, Justin Trudeau said he did not condone the arson but said he understood.; Almost no charges have been laid in these attacks one of which destroyed a Coptic Christian church in Vancouver. The Copts came to Canada from Egypt AFTER the last residential school closed.
Our history needs rational discussion. If individual Indians were abused or assaulted by all means charge the perpetrators, if still alive.
However, as with the holocaust, discussion and questioning is not what is wanted. It would interrupt and dampen the very profitable guilt narrative. Thus, “Canada should give “urgent consideration” to legal mechanisms as a way to combat residential school denialism, said a Friday report from [Kimberly Murray] the independent special interlocutor on unmarked graves.
Justice Minister David Lametti said he is open to such a solution. …
In her interim report, Murray raised concerns about increasing attacks from “denialists” who challenge communities when they announce the discovery of possible unmarked graves.
‘This violence is prolific,”’ the report said. ‘And takes place via email, telephone, social media, op-eds and, at times, through in-person confrontations’.” (Canadian Press, June 16, 2023)
Notice that e-mail comments, post on social media and op eds are now labelled as “violence.”
No discussion or criticism is to be allowed: Just hang your head in guilt and shame and pay up! — Paul Fromm
These are reasonable questions.
Canada should consider legal solution to fight residential school denialism: special interlocutor
Kimberly Murray wants to see tougher action on residential school denialism
Kimberly Murray, Special Interlocuter at the first meeting for the National Gathering for Unmarked Burials
Canada should give “urgent consideration” to legal mechanisms as a way to combat residential school denialism, said a Friday report from the independent special interlocutor on unmarked graves.
Justice Minister David Lametti said he is open to such a solution.
Kimberly Murray made the call in her newly released interim report, just over a year after she was appointed to an advisory role focused on how Ottawa can help indigenous communities search for children who died and disappeared from residential schools.
Her final report is due next year and is expected to contain recommendations.
The former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada spent much of the past year travelling the country and hearing from different communities, experts and survivors.
The Liberal government created her role as it looked for ways to respond to First Nations from across Western Canada and in parts of Ontario using ground-penetrating radar to search former residential school sites for possible unmarked graves.
In her interim report, Murray raised concerns about increasing attacks from “denialists” who challenge communities when they announce the discovery of possible unmarked graves.
“This violence is prolific,” the report said. “And takes place via email, telephone, social media, op-eds and, at times, through in-person confrontations.”
Murray listed several examples, including after the May 2021 announcement by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation that ground-penetrating radar had discovered what are believed to be 215 unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The findings garnered international media attention and triggered an outpouring of grief, shock and anger from across the country, both in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Murray said in her report that on top of dealing with an onslaught of media attention, the First Nation in British Columbia had to deal with individuals entering the site itself.
“Some came in the middle of the night, carrying shovels; they said they wanted to ‘see for themselves’ if children are buried there. Denialists also attacked the community on social media.”
Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir of Tk’emlups te Secwepemc said she no longer uses social media without heavy filters because of the intensity of the “hate and racism” she experienced, according to the report, and believes the issue needs more attention…
Murray said Canada has a role to play to combat this sentiment and that “urgent consideration” should be given to what legal tools exist to address the problem, including both civil and criminal sanctions.
Lametti, who appointed Murray to her role, said that he is open to all possibilities to fighting residential-school denialism.
He said that includes “a legal solution and outlawing it,” adding some countries have criminalized denial of the Holocaust during the Second World War.
The federal government followed suit last year, amending the Criminal Code to say someone could be found guilty if they wilfully promote antisemitism “by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust.”
The measure does not apply to private conversations.
NDP MP Leah Gazan has also called for Parliament to legislate residential school denialism as hate speech.
“I recognize the damage denialism does,” Lametti said Friday as he joined the event in Cowessess First Nation by video conference.”
