Maritime residential school survivor reacts to Bishops' Council apology
Less than a week before Canada's first Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement apologizing for some of the wrongs done in residential schools.
"I couldn't believe that they would even admit all those things and still, there's no justice," says Yvonne (Paul) Meunier, a survivor of the Shubenacadie residential school.
Now a grandmother, Meunier says she never thought she would see any admission like this in her lifetime.
She says for the survivors who have died, like her father, and the children who never came home, it's too late.
"So when I think about my ancestors that are on the other side and all the children that were just found - the 6,509 kids that were found - and I look at that apology and I say to myself My God, it's like a slap in the face," says Meunier.
The apology states: "Many Catholic religious communities participated in this system, which led to the suppression of Indigenous languages, culture and spirituality," and acknowledges the grave abuses that were committed, “physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural and sexual.”
It wraps up by recognizing ongoing trauma and says, "we express our profound remorse, and apologize unequivocally."
"They were very clear on the damage that was done, psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, physically," Meunier says.
Meunier's son, Jeff Ward, is general manager of the Membertou Heritage Park. He says he had heard words of apology from local parish priests, and from the Archbishop of Halifax –Yarmouth prior to the statement.
Ward says while this latest apology is a step in the right direction, true accountability has to come from Rome.
"It needs to come from the top. It needs to come right from the Pope," Ward said, "and it has to come directly to our people and I believe that's the steps that have to happen."
The letter from the Council of Bishops raises the possibility of a visit from the Pope to Canada as part of the healing process. It also commits to continued work to memorialize those buried in unmarked graves.
"I mean, it had to be addressed. So was it sincere enough? It's a start”, Ward says.
"It will be interesting to see what's going to come out of this, other than just an apology," says Meunier, "at least they're admitting, that's some sort of consolation there."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.