Canada's provincial gov't of Ontario apologizes for abuses in residential schools

The provincial government of Ontario on Monday offered a formal apology to indigenous people for the brutalities suffered at residential schools, calling it one of the most "shameful chapters" in Canada's history.

In a statement to the legislature, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne delivered the province's official response to last year's report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the cultural genocide of aboriginal people.

"As premier, I apologize for the policies and practices supported by the past Ontario governments and for the harm that they caused," Wynne said as residential school survivors looked on.

"I apologize for the province's silence in the face of abuses and deaths at residential schools," said the premier. "And I apologize for the fact that the residential schools are only one example of systemic, inter-generational injustices inflicted upon indigenous communities throughout Canada."

The apology was part of Ontario's response to the 2015 report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was based on a six-year inquiry into the systemic abuse of some 150,000 indigenous students who attended the former Canadian government-funded, Christian church-run residential schools for over a century.

The inquiry found that thousands of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were physically and sexually abused at residential schools, and died in numbers that would not have been tolerated in any school system.

There were 18 residential schools for indigenous children in Ontario, starting in 1832. The last one didn't close until 1991.

Residential schools set out to "take the Indian out of the child," removing children from homes and systematically stripping them of their languages, cultures, laws, and rights.

Ontario will also spend 250 million Canadian dollars (192 million U.S. dollars) over the next three years to help understand the legacy of residential schools and to create "a culturally relevant and responsive" justice system.

More symbolically, the premier announced the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs is being renamed the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. The rechristened department will still be led by Minister David Zimmer.

In last year's report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued 94 recommendations such as reducing the number of aboriginal children in foster care and granting police greater independence to investigate crimes where government may be an interested party. Endit