David Raymond Amos Round 3

Replying to @EricGrenierTW

Yea Right Tell me anther one

4:09 PM · Jul 10, 2021

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/

Replying to @EricGrenierTW

Who paid you for this article???

CBC News Canada Poll Tracker

The CBC News Poll Tracker is your guide to following the polls. Get the latest numbers and analysis about where Canada's political parties stand from Eric Grenier.

newsinteractives.cbc.ca

Éric Grenier's Poll Tracker

Last Updated: Jul 7, 2021 9:04 a.m.

Liberals on threshold of majority government

The Liberals have consistently held a lead over the Conservatives in recent polls, with most showing a wide margin between the two parties. The New Democrats trail in third but have shown growth in recent weeks, while the Bloc Québécois and Greens have about as much support as they did in the last election in 2019.

https://www.thewrit.ca/p/the-writ-podcast-episode-one

Episode #1 - Summertime and the voting is easy

Election speculation, retiring incumbents and a floor-crossing you probably didn't hear about on this week's episode of The Writ

Éric Grenier

Jun 28

This week on The Writ podcast:

In the news

Election speculation, and whether the Liberals might want to go much sooner than later
The impact of retiring incumbent MPs in Atlantic Canada
Claire Samson crosses the floor from the Coalition Avenir Québec to … the Quebec Conservatives?

Polls of the week

Abacus Data: Liberals open a 10-point lead over the Conservatives
Innovative Research Group: Liberals lead in decisive seat clusters
Insights West: B.C. NDP down but hold solid lead over B.C. Liberals

Questions and answers

Which incumbents are in most danger of being defeated?
Whither the Maverick Party?

#EveryElectionProject

The 1960 provincial election in New Brunswick
Source: The Right Fight: Bernard Lord and the Conservative Dilemma by Jacques Poitras

If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in next week’s episode, leave a comment below, tweet me or send me an email. eric.grenier@thewrit.ca Thanks for listening!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/priest-slams-lack-of-catholic-fundraising-for-residential-school-survivors-1.6096717

Priest slams 'pitiful' lack of Catholic fundraising for residential school survivors

Saskatchewan's 5 bishops have agreed to resume fundraising, while dozens elsewhere remain silent

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jul 10, 2021 2:00 AM CT

Retired Catholic priest and Order of Canada recipient André Poilièvre says he is disgusted by the church's lack of fundraising for residential school survivors over the past 15 years. (Don Somers/CBC)

A Catholic priest is speaking out against his own church, saying he's ashamed it used a legal "loophole" to escape its $25-million promise to residential school survivors.

"It's scandalous, really shameful," said Saskatoon priest and Order of Canada recipient André Poilièvre.

"It was a loophole. It might be legal, but it's not ethical."

One of the Catholic Church's promises in the landmark 2005 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was to give its "best efforts" at fundraising $25 million for survivors.

After a decade, more than $21 million of that remained unpaid. All other churches involved in the settlement — United, Anglican and Presbyterian — paid their full shares without incident.

Catholic Church dedicated nearly $300M for buildings since promising residential school survivors $25M in 2005

Several years after the settlement, the federal government asked the church to pay. The church's legal team instead went to court and pointed to the "best efforts" clause, saying the church had tried its best. On July 16, 2015, a judge agreed and absolved the church of its legal obligation.

In an interview, Poilièvre said he was disgusted with the church's meagre fundraising effort, the "unethical" legal manoeuvring to get out of it, and the fact more than $290 million was committed to cathedral and church construction across Canada during this time.

"It's pitiful," he said. "I think money should be spent on people first, and buildings and cathedrals last."

The $128-million renovation to St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in Toronto was completed in September 2016, one year after Catholic Church groups told a judge that $3.9 million was all they could fundraise nationally for Canada's residential school survivors. (St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica/Facebook)

Poilièvre said he welcomed this week's announcement of local fundraising for survivors by Saskatchewan's five bishops — even if it is 16 years late. But he noted dozens of other bishops across Canada have remained silent this week on the money question.

"As a Catholic church, we were responsible. We need a collective, corporate response," Polièvre said. "We were complicit with the government in the design, the implementation and the management of these schools."

Poilièvre, 85, has seen the legacy of residential schools and its devastating impact on Indigenous families. In 1978, frustrated with the church's and society's treatment of Indigenous people, he threw his white clerical collar into a trash can and moved to Yellowknife. He then worked for co-operative businesses in more than 30 Indigenous communities.

"I wanted to learn, and they taught me so much," Poilièvre said.

Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors

Six years later, he returned to Saskatoon and resumed work as a priest, but insisted everyone call him only by his first name. He's now worked for decades with thousands of inmates and former gang members through the group he founded, STR8 UP.

"I am not Indigenous, but I identify more with Indigenous people than with the church, to be honest," he said.

Poilièvre and others say the Catholic Church's structure is a big part of the problem.

In many ways, the church is hierarchical and synchronized, they say. From the top, the Vatican dictates the rituals of the mass, the rules for living and the belief system. From the bottom, the Vatican receives revenue from each individual region or diocese.

Poilièvre told CBC News he is anxious to get back to working with inmates when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted in Saskatchewan this weekend. He said the high percentage of incarcerated Indigenous people is part of the legacy of Canada's residential school system. (Don Somers/CBC)

But when it comes to compensating residential school survivors, producing documentation of unmarked grave sites, revealing the names of abuser priests or securing a Papal apology on Canadian soil, Poilièvre and others argue the top levels suddenly deny all responsibility. Each diocese acts an independent legal and financial unit.

"The Catholic Church has organized itself very deliberately this way to avoid corporate responsibility," said Thomas McMahon, former lead counsel for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

"Governments could easily pass a law saying, 'Yes, Catholic Church, you are a legal corporate entity.' But our politicians are too afraid of Catholic voters. They let the Catholic Church play this game."

McMahon said the Catholic Church hired a "bazillion" lawyers at every stage, from compensation to a simple document request by survivors or the TRC. No other church group did that, he said.

"It's so obvious that was the strategy," he said.

Michele Dillon, who has authored four books about Catholicism, says the Catholic Church is 'still struggling to find ways to hold people accountable and to make reparations' in Canada and around the world. (University of New Hampshire)

Michele Dillon, a University of New Hampshire professor who has written four books about Catholicism, said the church is in crisis. Dillon, McMahon and others say the church's recent abuse and financial scandals are compounded by coverup, denial and broken promises.

"It's certainly regrettable that the church is still struggling to find ways to hold people accountable and to make reparations," Dillon said.

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Saskatchewan

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) declined an interview request. An official said they don't have the authority to speak on behalf of individual bishops.

CBC News also asked the CCCB whether any bishops outside Saskatchewan have committed to further raising money for residential school survivors. The official said it's "outside the mandate" of the CCCB to ask its members questions on behalf of outside organizations.

Poilièvre called that response typical and said he wants it to change. That change, he said, can start with all Canadian bishops agreeing to get that $21 million to survivors.

"It didn't happen then, but it needs to happen now," he said. "The effort wasn't there. The commitment wasn't there. The energy wasn't there. Hopefully it will be now."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Warick

Reporter

Jason Warick is a reporter with CBC Saskatoon.

https://twitter.com/MicheleDillon15/status/1334655718704734214

DEAN, COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Class of 1944 Professor of Sociology

Sociology

Michele Dillon, Ph.D., is Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the UNH Class of 1944 Professor of Sociology. Educated at University College Dublin and the University of California-Berkeley, her research focuses on autonomy and authority in the Catholic Church; moral politics; religion, spirituality and aging; and religion and cultural change. Her publications include Postsecular Catholicism: Relevance and Renewal (Oxford University Press, 2018); Catholic Identity: Balancing Reason, Faith, and Power (Cambridge University Press, 1999); American Catholics in Transition (co-authors W. D’Antonio & M. Gautier; Rowman & Littlefield, 2013); In the Course of a Lifetime: Tracing Religious Belief, Practice and Change (co-author Paul Wink; University of California Press, 2007) - named by Choice as an outstanding title of 2007; Debating Divorce: Moral Conflict in Ireland (University Press of Kentucky, 1993); Handbook of the Sociology of Religion (editor, Cambridge University Press, 2003); Introduction to Sociological Theory (Wiley-Blackwell, 2nd ed., 2014), and over 50 book chapters and articles in journals such as Sociological Theory, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Adult Development, and Research on Aging. Dr. Dillon’s research has been supported by grants from the John Templeton Foundation, the Louisville Institute, the Fetzer Institute, and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, among other entities. She was honored in 2011 as the 11th Annual Anne Drummey O'Callaghan Lecturer on Women in the Church, at Fairfield University; and in 2011-12 was the JE and Lillian Byrne Tipton Distinguished Visiting Professor in Catholic Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. Professor Dillon has served as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Chair of the American Sociological Association Section on the Sociology of Religion, and President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion. She is frequently interviewed by regional, national and international media outlets on matters pertaining to religion and society.

Michele Dillon

@MicheleDillon15

Great panel discussion this evening with @UofNH @UNHCOLA⁩ Prof. Haines ⁦@twhaines & awesome COLA journalism alums on truth & disinformation in journalism.

8:28 PM · Dec 3, 2020

davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2021/07/10000-

Replying to @MicheleDillon15 @UofNH and 2 others Questionable journalists are writing about your work in @CBCNews today so I blogged it as well Perhaps we should have a long talk some day soon?

#CatholicTwitter #CatholicChurch #Catholic #cdnpoli

'Scandalous, really shameful': Priest slams lack of Catholic fundraising for residential school...

A Catholic priest is speaking out against his own church, saying he's ashamed it used a legal "loophole" to escape its $25-million promise to residential school survivors.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-priest-calls-on-catholic-church-to-release-records-1.5408842

Sask. priest calls on Catholic church to release records of abusive priests, enablers

Rev. André Poilièvre says sexist, hierarchical, 'evil' church structure needs to be destroyed

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Dec 27, 2019 3:00 AM CT

Rev. André Poilièvre, an Order of Canada recipient, says most priests are good men, but church structures are broken. He's calling on the Catholic Church to release the names of known child abusers. (CBC News)

A Saskatchewan priest has joined the growing chorus demanding the Catholic church release all names of sexual abusers within its ranks.

Rev. André Poilièvre said that's just one of many changes needed to stop child sexual exploitation by priests. He said most of his colleagues are good men, but called the current structure overly hierarchical and sexist.

"The whole cultural clerical system in the church is demonic. It's evil. It's anti-woman. You know that whole clerical culture needs to be destroyed," said Polièvre.

The Saskatoon-based priest is also a member of the Order of Canada, an honour given to him for his work helping thousands of inmates and gang members. The group he founded, STR8UP, has helped many of them to start new lives.

The whole cultural clerical system in the church is demonic.

- Rev. Andre Poilievre

Poilièvre, 83, wants people to just call him André. He said intimidating names and elaborate regalia are part of the problem. He said they create a power dynamic that enables sexual abuse and helps cover it up.

"Look at the titles we've given ourselves — your eminence, your grace, your holiness, your excellency, reverend, most reverend, right reverend. You want me to continue?" he said.

On Jan. 1, 1978, Poilièvre threw his clerical collar in the garbage, and he has worn casual street clothes ever since.

Pope Francis recently voided the 'pontifical secrecy' rule in abuse cases. Some say it could help those pressing the church to disclose lists of abuser priests and those who enabled it. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images)

Poilièvre agreed with those calling for the church to release its files on sexual abusers. He also agrees the church should release the names of those who covered it up. Like others, he said there can be no healing or forgiveness as long as church leaders choose secrecy and exclusion.

He said the church also needs to end the "unhealthy" ban on female, married and gay priests.

"You want to deal with sexual abuse in the church? Ordain married men. Ordain single men. Ordain married women. Ordain single women. Black, white, gay? Who cares?" he said.

Church officials in Saskatchewan and elsewhere acknowledge they conduct internal investigations, and don't share abuse findings with police if the victim is no longer a minor.

Archdiocese promised to release list, but reversed decision

Saskatchewan church leaders say they're compiling files on abuser priests, but none have committed to making that information public.

The Archdiocese of Regina had promised several months ago to release a list, but Archbishop Don Bolen has reversed that stance for now. Bolen said the victims he works with don't want it released. Bolen said he would consider releasing an overall number at some point, but has not given a date.

When asked if forced celibacy was a factor in priest abuse cases, Bolen declined to give an opinion, but said it was an "important discussion" and he's willing to listen.

Many Roman Catholic jurisdictions in the U.S. have volunteered or been forced to release lists of abuser priests in recent months. They typically list the priest, along with dates served in each parish and the known or alleged offences committed. Any names or details that would identify victims is excluded.

Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver names 9 clergymen in sex abuse scandal

In November, the Archdiocese of Vancouver became the first in Canada to publicly reveal sexual abuse convictions against priests. Critics noted they only named a handful of the 36 abusers in the report.

In a report prepared by the archdiocese at the time, a committee listed some of the systemic problems, "which call into question the integrity of the institution of the Catholic Church." These included the celibacy rule and exclusion of female priests. It also condemned the "pomp and pageantry" in the church that gives priests enormous power over members.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-comments-future-leadership-1.6096506

Catholic Pastoral Centre

Cathedral of the Holy Family (2nd floor)
123 Nelson Road, Saskatoon, SK S7S 1H1
Telephone: (306) 242-1500
Fax: (306) 244-6010
Toll Free: 1-877-661-5005

3 strikes and you're outed: Brian Pallister makes another inflammatory comment about Indigenous relations

Brian Pallister's latest gaffe — and reluctance to acknowledge it — further illustrates his unusual leadership

Bartley Kives · CBC News · Posted: Jul 10, 2021 6:00 AM CT

Premier Brian Pallister followed up his 'race war' and back-of-the-vaccine-line comments with a claim colonialism played out with the best of intentions. (Gary Solilak/CBC)

During five years as Manitoba's premier, Brian Pallister has made a trio of statements his critics can fairly describe as impediments to reconciliation.

Speaking in Virden in 2017, Pallister characterized divisions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people over illegal night hunting as the makings of "a race war."

He later walked back those comments as "the wrong choice of words," but did not apologize for them.

Late in 2020, the premier suggested the need to prioritize the Indigenous population for COVID-19 vaccinations "puts Manitobans at the back of the line" for doses if the province does not receive a greater proportional share of shots.

The implication, as Sen. Murray Sinclair noted, was Indigenous people are not Manitobans.

In spite of that rhetoric, the province went on to partner with the First Nations Pandemic Response Team on what is widely regarded as a successful effort to ensure vaccines made their way to Indigenous communities.

Night hunting 'becoming a race war,' says Premier Brian Pallister

Manitoba premier wants extra doses of vaccine if Ottawa reserves portion for First Nations

The third statement arrived on Wednesday, when the premier issued a plea to Manitobans who remain angry about the discovery of the remains of hundreds of children at several Canadian residential schools.

During a speech intended to calm the waters, Pallister instead whipped up a storm by suggesting the colonization of Canada was conducted with good intentions.

"The people who came here to this country before it was a country, and since, didn't come here to destroy anything," the premier said. "They came here to build."

This comment has been characterized as ahistorical and insensitive by Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars alike.

That is not hyperbole. For starters, nations existed in what's now Manitoba before 1619, when Jens Munck's crew of hapless Hudson Bay sailors became the first Europeans to set foot on what would eventually become this province.

More significantly, the colonization of this continent did involve deliberate efforts to destroy Indigenous people.

In 2017, Pallister said night hunting by Indigenous men is becoming a 'race war.' (Submitted by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation)

As more Canadians are aware than ever, residential schools were created with the stated intention of eradicating Indigenous languages and erasing Indigenous cultures as part of an effort to assimilate the people who lived here centuries and millennia before the first trans-Atlantic voyages.

Nonetheless, the premier bristles at any suggestion his latest comments were offensive.

Statues of queens toppled at Manitoba legislature will be restored, premier says

On Friday, his office claimed critics misrepresented the premier's statement and insisted Pallister has spent his career attempting to improve the lives of Indigenous people.

In other words, Pallister is doubling down on his sunny take on colonial history, much the same way he tripled and quadrupled down on claims his government did everything it could to prevent the second-wave of COVID-19 from decimating personal care homes and the third wave from overwhelming intensive care wards.

"When you're premier and you're wanting to hold on to power for your party moving forward, and you know you've been experiencing some drops in the polls and maybe some calls for your resignation, you would think you would be a little bit more sensitive and tuned in to walking a more careful path," said Kelly Saunders, a Brandon University political scientist.

"These were not politically smart comments for him to make, even if he thought it, even if he deeply holds these beliefs. It's one thing to think it; It's another thing to say it."

In 2020, Pallister said Manitoba's need to vaccinate its large Indigenous population against COVID-19 placed non-Indigenous people at the back of the vaccine line. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

The drops in the polls for Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives are demonstrable. They're also reversible, if a new and perhaps more compassionate-sounding PC leader replaces Pallister some time between now and the next provincial election.

There is no obvious candidate within the PC caucus to step into that role. If cabinet ministers Cameron Friesen and Heather Stefanson still have leadership ambitions, they would be vulnerable to election-time attacks due to their respective roles as health ministers during Manitoba's disastrous efforts to manage the pandemic's second and third waves.

There isn't even an obvious candidate to serve as an interim leader for Tory MLAs to temporarily rally behind if Pallister does depart early. Committing regicide isn't easy, as the NDP demonstrated so dramatically during the failed effort to usher Greg Selinger out of office in 2015.

Publicly, no PC MLA has uttered a negative peep about either Pallister's pandemic performance or his comments this week.

Some may not be running again. Others may value party loyalty. Yet others may be afraid to stick out their necks.

"I would have expected to see perhaps an individual or two maybe beginning to distance themselves," Saunders said. "It hasn't happened yet."

Pallister '50 years out of date,' professor says after premier's comments on colonial history of Manitoba

The nature of Pallister's leadership is also a factor. The premier tends to speak for his entire government and only occasionally provides his cabinet ministers the latitude to opine on policy issues. Other MLAs are sometimes seen but rarely heard.

"In the first few years of his time as premier, being a bit of a one-man show was in some ways a benefit. He had clear ideas of his own. He was on his own track. He did pretty aggressive things," said Mary Agnes Welch, a principal at Winnipeg polling firm Probe Research.

"I think these days when we are in the midst of a crisis that requires a lot of input, a real understanding of how Manitobans feel and what their behaviours are, now is the time when a good leader needs to listen and take into account all of those views."

It is unclear how many people this premier turns to for advice. Assuming someone vetted his speech on Wednesday, it's also fair to ask whether he listens to it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bartley Kives

Reporter, CBC Manitoba

Reporter Bartley Kives joined CBC Manitoba in 2016. Prior to that, he spent three years at the Winnipeg Sun and 18 at the Winnipeg Free Press, writing about politics, music, food and outdoor recreation. He's the author of the Canadian bestseller A Daytripper's Guide to Manitoba: Exploring Canada's Undiscovered Province and co-author of both Stuck in the Middle: Dissenting Views of Winnipeg and Stuck In The Middle 2: Defining Views of Manitoba. His work has also appeared in publications such as the Guardian and Explore magazine.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pope-no-apology-residential-school-1.4596439

Trudeau disappointed by Pope's decision not to apologize for residential schools

Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for a papal apology to survivors

The Canadian Press · Posted: Mar 28, 2018 7:48 AM ET

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, meets Pope Francis on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican Monday, May 29, 2017. (The Associated Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today he's disappointed with the Pope's decision to not apologize for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's residential schools and the trauma experienced by their students.

The prime minister said reconciliation is not just a matter between government and Indigenous people, but must also involve non-government actors as well.

A letter released Tuesday by the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops says Pope Francis has not shied away from recognizing injustices faced by Indigenous peoples around the world, but he can't personally apologize for residential schools.

"Obviously I'm disappointed with the Catholic Church's decision not to apologize for their role in residential schools," said Trudeau.

Trudeau on the Pope

3 years ago

0:41

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacts to the decision by the Pope not to apologize for residential schools 0:41

"Reconciliation is not just between government and Indigenous peoples, it's between non-Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous peoples as well. We will keep working with communities, keep working with individuals on the path to reconciliation because we know taking responsibility for past mistakes and asking forgiveness is something that is core to our values as Canadians."

A papal apology was one of the 94 recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. During a visit to the Vatican last year, Trudeau personally asked the Pope to consider such a gesture.

The commission recommended an apology similar to that offered by the Pope to Irish victims of sexual abuse in 2010. In 2015, Pope Francis issued an apology in Bolivia to Indigenous peoples in the Americas for the "grave sins" of colonialism.

As It Happens
'No government tells the Pope what to say': Priest defends lack of apology for residential schools
Trudeau asks Pope for apology for residential schools
Residential school survivors shouldn't have to beg Pope for apology, says survivor

In the letter issued Tuesday, Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, says that while "the Holy Father is aware of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission" and takes them "seriously," he "felt that he could not personally respond" to the request for an apology.

Gendron writes that the Pope has not ruled out a visit to Canada and a meeting with Indigenous Peoples, but in the meantime is encouraging Canadian bishops to continue working with Indigenous Peoples on reconciliation and projects that help with healing.

Sen. Murray Sinclair, the former head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said a lack of apology could interfere with the healing process.

"I think there's always been a bit of a schism between those Indigenous communities that have members of the Catholic church versus those who are not members of the Catholic church within their communities and I think this is going to add to that tension," he said.

Canada won't give up on apology: Bennett

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde said in a statement he has written to Pope Francis urging him to come to Canada to meet Indigenous peoples. He is also seeking a direct meeting with the Pope to discuss the issue further.

"Hearing an apology directly from Pope Francis would be an important act of healing and reconciliation, much like his apology delivered to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas in 2015," Bellegarde said.

For more than a century, the federal government's church-run residential schools operated in an effort to assimilate Indigenous children by forcing them into schools where they were not allowed to speak their languages or engage in Indigenous cultural practices. Almost two-thirds of the 130 schools were run by the Catholic Church. (wherearethechildren.ca)

Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said the government will keep pushing for a papal apology.

"The commissioners recommended this as an important part of healing reconciliation for the survivors," Bennett said in an emailed statement. "We will continue to advocate for this call to action."

Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "sorrow" to a delegation from Canada's Assembly of First Nations back in 2009 over the abuse and "deplorable" treatment that Aboriginal students suffered at residential schools run by the Church.

"Sorrow is not enough," said Bennett. "Sorrow is never enough. One has to take responsibility for the harm that was done."

Phil Fontaine, AFN chief at the time, called the 2009 statement significant, but said he supports the call for a full apology.

"Hindsight is 20/20 as you know, and sure, maybe it should have been something more comprehensive but at that moment, what we received was, in my view, something that was important enough to convince me that the decision to accept the invitation was the right one," he said.

"I support the call, obviously. That doesn't diminish what we accomplished in 2009. Not in any way."

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, a Roman Catholic himself, didn't outright say the Pope should apologize, but did say any group that played a role in the residential school system, including groups with religious affiliations, should own up to their past mistakes.

Scheer won't criticize the Pope by name

3 years ago

1:34

Opposition leader Andrew Scheer reflects on the Pope's decision not to apologize 1:34

"I think that any group or institution that had a significant role in the residential school system should help move past and help get though this period of reconciliation by apologizing for the role they might have played," he said.

For more than a century, the federal government's church-run residential schools worked to assimilate Indigenous children by forcing them into schools where they were not allowed to speak their languages or engage in Indigenous cultural practices. Almost two-thirds of the 130 schools were run by the Catholic Church.

Robert-Falcon Ouellette reflects on the Pope

3 years ago

0:50

Ouellette is a Liberal MP from Winnipeg 0:50

Between the 1880s and the time the last school closed in 1996, more than 150,000 Indigenous children attended, many of whom reported being physically, sexually and psychologically abused at the hands of priests, nuns or other teachers.

Canada apologized for the schools in 2008, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was born out of a negotiated settlement agreement that included compensation for survivors.

Pope won't apologize for residential schools

3 years ago

9:24

'it's not just a matter of ticking off a particular Call to Action,' says Winnipeg's Archbishop Richard Gagnon. 9:24

Other Christian denominations implicated in abuse at residential schools have already apologized — the United Church in 1986, the Anglican Church in 1993 and the Presbyterian Church in 1994.

The English-language attaché to the Holy See Press Office said the Catholic church is organized differently.

"It is not the government who establishes the agenda of what the Pope is going to do," Father Thomas Rosica, CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation in Toronto, told CBC.

Rosica said the church is still committed to reconciliation.

"We're talking about a long term commitment and not a cheapened apology," he said.

Indigenous leaders react to Pope's decision to not apologize for residential schools

3 years ago

5:44

'I just wish the Church would have a backbone and stand with us,' says former NWT premier and residential school survivor Stephen Kakfwi. 5:44

With files from CBC News

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/st-annes-court-rules-opp-transcripts-can-be-rejected-as-evidence-1.4478665

Court says Ottawa can reject police, court transcripts as evidence in St. Anne's residential school cases

St. Anne's survivors say federal government refuses to acknowledge truth of abuse at notorious school

Jorge Barrera · CBC News · Posted: Jan 09, 2018 2:00 PM ET

A group of altar boys at St. Anne's Indian Residential School c. 1945 in Fort Albany, Ont. (Edmund Metatawabin collection/Algoma University)

Ottawa can continue to reject the use of police and court transcripts as evidence in student-on-student compensation claims from survivors who attended St. Anne's Indian Residential School, according to a recent ruling.

The ruling, issued by Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell on Jan. 4, concluded the courts could not force Ottawa to admit to abuse under the terms of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. The agreement created a system for setting compensation levels known as the Independent Assessment Process (IAP).

The IAP was created as an adversarial process where Canada could challenge evidence and survivors had to provide proof to support their claims for compensation, said Perell, one of the judges tasked with supervising the settlement agreement. He said the courts could not rewrite the settlement agreement.

"Canada is under no general obligation to surrender … to make an admission of defeat," wrote Perell, in his ruling.

"The compensation part of the [settlement agreement] is not subsumed by the truth and reconciliation part.... Canada is contractually entitled to oppose IAP claims."

The ruling gave Ottawa a legal victory in its ongoing, multi-faceted legal battle with residential school survivors from St. Anne's Indian Residential School, which operated near the mouth of the Albany River along Ontario's James Bay Coast.

St. Anne's has emerged as one of the most notorious institutions from the more than a century long residential school era. The Catholic-run school used a homemade electric chair for punishment, while physical and sexual abuse was rampant throughout its dark corridors, according to the testimony of survivors.

Police, court transcripts 'hearsay'

St. Anne's was the subject of a 1990s Ontario Provincial Police investigation which led to several charges and convictions. It was also the subject of a 2003 civil case in Cochrane, Ont., that ended in a settlement before the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

The OPP investigation and the Cochrane civil action were at the heart of this case, known technically as a request for direction. At issue was Ottawa's refusal to accept witness transcripts from the OPP investigation and examination transcripts from the Cochrane case as evidence to substantiate student-on-student abuse compensation claims. Ottawa's lawyers determined the evidence to be "hearsay."

Angela Shisheesh wants to help other St. Anne's residential school survivors have their stories believed. (Angela Shisheesh/Facebook)

The standard is higher for residential school survivors seeking compensation for student-on-student abuse. Under the IAP, the survivor must prove that the abuse happened on school property and that either a government or church official knew or should have known of the abuse and did nothing to prevent it.

The case was triggered by two St. Anne's survivors, one identified as C-14114, and Angela Shisheesh, 72, a Cree language interpreter.

St. Anne's survivor C-14114 was seeking to have the court force Canada to admit the student-on-student abuse she suffered and accept OPP and Cochrane case transcripts as evidence.

Shisheesh was seeking to have her transcript from the Cochrane case admitted as evidence to support St. Anne's IAP claims.

'I wish this pain would go away'

Shisheesh said she was "stunned" by the decision and couldn't understand why Ottawa's lawyers continued to refuse to believe survivors. She said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, whose department provides direction to Justice Canada on the file, was undercutting her government's claims on reconciliation.

"I don't understand that Minister Carolyn Bennett; I don't understand her at all," said Shisheesh.

"What does she understand about reconciliation if she is doing that?"

Bennett's office said in a statement that the courts have "fully upheld" Ottawa's position on rejecting the OPP and Cochrane transcripts as evidence.

"It is the normal legal practice, not the choice of an individual minister," Bennett's office said in an emailed statement.

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the ruling makes clear that "if Canada doesn't want to do justice, there is no way they will do justice."

Shisheesh said it took her 40 years to deal with the aftermath of the sexual abuse she suffered at the school.

"I want the minister to try to understand how everybody felt," said Shisheesh, as she wept.

"It was so painful, I was so ashamed.... I wish this pain would go away; it would just erase from my body. That is why I am not afraid to talk about it, to fight, to make the minister understand."

Edmund Metatawabin, 66, a survivor of St. Anne's residential school in Fort Albany, Ont., is seen here during a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa in 2013. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Edmund Metatawabin, a St. Anne's survivor who wrote about St. Anne's homemade electric chair in the book Up Ghost River, said it doesn't matter which party runs the government, the machinery that spawned and ran residential schools remains the same.

"The government has been playing this game for so long. They delay, delay, ignore, keep hiding it," said Metatawabin.

"The bureaucracy is what we are looking at."

A silver lining

There was one silver lining for Shisheesh in the case. She was seeking to have her Cochrane transcripts turned over to National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, which is a repository for historical residential school files.

Bennett has said Ottawa would waive its privilege so Shisheesh could share her documents with the centre.

Perell ruled he wanted an additional filing on how documents from residential school-related civil actions should be handled under the settlement agreement. There were 18,000 civil actions before the courts prior to the 2006 settlement.

MP wants answers on why Ottawa suppressed residential school's police files
Indian residential schools: 5,300 alleged abusers located by Ottawa

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jorge Barrera

Reporter

Jorge Barrera is a Caracas-born, award-winning journalist who has worked across the country and internationally. He works for CBC's Indigenous unit based out of Ottawa. Follow him on Twitter @JorgeBarrera or email him jorge.barrera@cbc.ca.

Follow @jorgebarrera on Twitter

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/residential-school-alleged-abusers-iap-1.3422770

Indian residential schools: 5,300 alleged abusers located by Ottawa

17 private investigation firms contracted by government, at a cost of over $1.5M, to help settle abuse claims

Martha Troian · for CBC News · Posted: Feb 02, 2016 6:00 AM ET

The federal government has located thousands of people accused of physically and sexually abusing students at Canada's Indian residential schools. (Edmund Metatawabin collection/Algoma University)

Investigators hired by the federal government have located thousands of people accused of physically and sexually abusing students at Canada's Indian residential schools — though they may never face criminal charges.

As part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement agreement, the government located 5,315 alleged abusers, both former employees and students.

Seventeen private investigation firms were contracted, at a cost of $1,576,380, beginning in 2005, according to information provided by Indigenous and North Affairs Canada (INAC).

The alleged perpetrators, however, weren't tracked down to face criminal charges — it was to see if they would be willing to participate in hearings to determine compensation for residential school survivors. The Independent Assessment Process (IAP), not involving the courts, was set up to resolve the most severe abuse claims.

"There's not a lot in it for them to come forward," says Bill Percy, a Manitoba-based lawyer who has represented numerous residential school survivors.

That's because participation in the IAP hearings is optional.

Based on the total number of people found, so far, 4,450 have declined to participate in the IAP, with only 840 persons of interest indicating a willingness to participate.

'There was 1 that groomed me'

One of the people who went through the IAP process is Janet Longclaws, who attended the Brandon Indian Residential School in Brandon, Man., from age seven until she was 12 years old.

"There was a group of four girls that were bullies, and there was one that groomed me," said Longclaws.

"She became my protector, but at the same time it turned into her being the abuser next."

Janet Longclaws attended the Brandon Indian Residential School in Manitoba from the age of seven until she was 12 years old. (Supplied)

Now age 60, Longclaws suffers from nightmares and anxiety, especially in late August — a time that would have marked the beginning of a new school year.

Still, despite the nightmares and flashbacks of the physical and sexual abuse she endured, Longclaws cannot remember the names of her tormentors.

"I just see silhouettes of girls," she said. "I've tried many times, many ways, to recall their names."

Even though she can't remember names, Longclaws eventually received a settlement for the abuse she suffered — though she waited 15 months for a decision.

Working as a health support worker for other residential school survivors, Longclaws said she has heard of others who have waited more than two years to hear whether they'll be compensated.

She said she wishes she had the opportunity to face her alleged abusers in a hearing.

According to the Indian Residential School Secretariat, 33,712 residential school survivors so far have been compensated for sexual and physical abuse, with 4,278 applications in progress.

No information released to law enforcement

Only 708 alleged abusers — who are among the more than 5,300 located by investigators — have taken part in hearings since last November, with another 22 hearings scheduled.

"I think some of them … could be fearful there might be further repercussions, even criminal charges," said Percy.

Percy also said many of these alleged perpetrators may have died, aged, or are living with some kind of medical condition, making it difficult for them to participate in an IAP hearing.

The identity and names of alleged perpetrators who want to participate in the IAP are kept on a secure server with other data related to IAP claims. They are not disclosed to anyone, other than the adjudicator in each specific claim, and to the Department of Indigenous Affairs.

Information would only be released if the adjudication secretariat is served with a search warrant, or if it's believed a child could be at risk.

An alleged abuser is entitled to be notified of the claimant's name and the allegations made by the claimant in the IAP application, but that person will not be given the claimant's location, contact information, or any of the claimant's personal information or records.

Few criminal charges

Percy says there is more former students can do, if they choose.

"There's nothing to stop the individual survivor to go to the police, even though they told their story through this process," he said.

Few, it seems, ever have.

Through the history of residential schools — which lasted over a century, with tens of thousands having suffered abuse — fewer than 50 people have been convicted for crimes related to the schools.

In the case of St. Anne's Residential School, once located in Fort Albany, Ont., six school officials were criminally convicted following a five-year OPP investigation into the school during the 1990s.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Martha Troian

Originally from Obishikokaang (Lac Seul First Nation) located in northwestern Ontario, Martha Troian is an investigative journalist who frequently contributes to CBC News, including work on the multiple award-winning and ongoing Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls. Follow her @ozhibiiige

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/catholic-church-withholding-millions-from-victims-alleges-government-1.2542363

Catholic Church withholding millions from victims, alleges government

Court documents allege the church is pocketing money intended for former residential school students

Connie Walker · CBC News · Posted: Feb 18, 2014 6:55 PM ET

A class practises penmanship at the Red Deer Indian Industrial School in Alberta, circa 1914 to 1919. (United Church of Canada, Archives

Court documents obtained by CBC News allege that the Catholic Church is withholding millions from former students of Indian residential schools.

The church was part of the Indian residential school settlement reached in 2006. While the government paid the lion’s share of the billion-dollar settlement, the churches were also required to make reparations.

The Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches have met their obligations, but according to the federal government, the Catholic Church is shirking its responsibility.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is one organization that was slated to receive funds from the Catholic Church.

"We're trying to get blood from a stone," says Mike DeGagne, former head of the organization.

We're trying to get blood from a stone.

— Mike DeGagne

He says the foundation was supposed to receive $29 million from the church.

"But then, the Catholics were allowed to subtract a number of expenses they'd already incurred, so it got down to about $18 million and about $1.6 million is still outstanding."

Ottawa claims those expenses should have gone directly to the foundation, and is critical of the church for claiming legal expenses as administrative costs.

"The net effect of this accounting approach is to reduce the overall amounts that are paid to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and to give preference to the Corporation's administrative costs, including their lawyers' fees, at the expense of former students of Indian Residential Schools."

Ottawa also points out the Catholic groups committed to fundraise $25 million as a part of the settlement, but so far have only raised a fraction of that.

With funding from Ottawa, the Catholic Church ran more than 70 per cent of the residential schools, which operated from the late 1800s to the 1990s.

Denise Guimond attended one of those schools for five years.

Denise Guimond attended the Sagkeeng Residential School in Manitoba and wants the Catholic Church to pay its share of helping survivors. (CBC News)

"It's disheartening to know, because they're rich and there's no reason why they can't pay their portion or their part in supporting the survivors.… The churches should be paying actually to the organizations that are actually helping."

Pierre Baribeau, a lawyer in Montreal and director of the Catholic Entities corporation, says the Catholic Church will fight these allegations in court.

"The federal government has always adopted an aggressive attitude towards the Catholic Entities and we have offered reconciliation process to them and they firmly answered negatively, they don’t want to apply the agreement as negotiated in 2006, so we are going to present our arguments to the courts."

But DeGagne says the legal dispute sends a bad message to survivors.

"This is not about the person in the pews. Most Catholics have no idea their church isn't honouring their obligations and choosing to pay lawyers versus their obligations to survivors. If most Catholics knew this, they would be appalled."

Today, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said, "Canada is committed to implementation of settlement agreement, as this matter is before the court, this will be the extent of my comment on it."

The case is scheduled to be heard in a Saskatoon court in June.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connie Walker

CBC Reporter

Connie Walker is a reporter in the Investigative Unit at CBC News. Follow her on twitter @connie_walker

With files from Karen Pauls

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/starphoenix-reporter-jason-warick-placed-in-custody-for-refusing-to-hand-over-notebooks-1.2984844

Saskatoon

StarPhoenix reporter Jason Warick placed in custody for refusing to hand over notebooks

Journalism professor glad to see Saskatoon reporter stand up to judge

CBC News · Posted: Mar 06, 2015 2:23 PM CT

Saskatoon StarPhoenix reporter Jason Warick. (Twitter)

University of Regina journalism professor Trish Elliott says the court is walking a dangerous line asking for a reporter's notes. (Jordan Bell/CBC)

A Saskatchewan journalism professor says Saskatoon StarPhoenix reporter Jason Warick was right to fight a judge's order to turn over his notebooks, despite the fact it landed Warick in custody.

Trish Elliott teaches at the University of Regina's School of Journalism. She said notebooks are vital for journalists.

It is an important point to make that our notebooks are not up for grabs easily.

- Trish Elliott, journalism professor at The University of Regina

"They are very key documents. They allow us to work. They allow us to check things. We tell our students to hang onto those notebooks. They are everything to you."

The incident involving Warick, first reported in The StarPhoenix, stems from a first-degree murder trial in Saskatoon of three men charged with the 2004 death of Isho Hana.

This StarPhoenix article written by Jason Warick on February 6, 2015, prompted the subpoena from the defence lawyer. (Eric Anderson/CBC)

Warick received a subpoena from one of the defence lawyers to appear in court with his notes to testify about an interview he did with with Noel Harder. The article appeared in the StarPhoenix on February 6, 2015.

The StarPhoenix's lawyer argued there was no evidence Warick's notebooks had anything relevant to the Hana murder trial. The judge ruled Warick had to attend court to testify, with his notes, but that he did not have to turn them over to defence lawyers.

Harder was a police informant during a biker investigation in Saskatoon in 2014 and 2015. He was called as a witness earlier this week at the trial and testified that in 2004 he heard a hit was taken out on Hana.

According to The StarPhoenix, Warick was placed in custody because he refused a judge's order to give up his notebooks to the court. He remained in custody over the noon hour.

After lunch, the judge released Warick but ordered his notebooks to remained sealed with the court.

Where does a notebook belong

Elliott believes the judge is walking a fine line by taking these actions.

"It is an important point to make that our notebooks are not up for grabs easily. And that police, judges and courts need to really think long and hard before they make a move like this because it is a serious move against journalism in the country," she said.

What really concerned Elliott is how this could impact the daily work a journalist does. Trust, Elliott argued, is important between a journalist and the person they are interviewing.

"It makes it difficult for journalists to do their job if the people speaking to them, especially in sensitive cases like this one, feel that what they say could end up in court. Or their comments in a notebook could end up in court."

Warick, the editor of The StarPhoenix, Heather Persson, and the newspaper's lawyer would not comment on the story today.

The Isho Hana trial continues.

with files from CBC's Eric Anderson

https://nitter.ggc-project.de/WarickCBC

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sask Premier Scott Moe etc now finished pipe ceremony. Prayer about to begin before expected child welfare announcement. cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche…

Prime minister, Sask. premier to sign child welfare agreement at Cowessess First Nation | CBC News

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe are set to sign an agreement that will see Cowessess First Nation retake jurisdiction of child welfare, according to Chief Cadmus...

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 20:49:36

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

Dozens of traditional/fancy/chicken/etc dancers and singers. "This is the fastest pow-wow I've done in 27 years." -announcer says to laughter before announcement.

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 21:21:16

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

PM Trudeau pledges $37M to Cowessess First Nation's child and family services system, says the goal is no more children taken from their community.

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 21:22:35

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme says his community is trying to heal and is "gaining strength" with this announcement, with a new solar power project, etc.

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 21:27:38

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

Premier Scott Moe thanked Trudeau for the fed legislation that made this possible. Moe told Delorme that Sask people will be w Cowesses every step of the way.

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 20:23:07

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

UPDATED: Total is now $322 million. (Alta readers alerted me to other recent Catholic cathedral/church projects there): Canmore - $16 M Calgary - $12.5 M Edmonton - $1.8 M cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Catholic Church raised nearly $300M for buildings since promising residential school survivors $25M...

Catholic officials argued in court they could only fundraise a total of $3.9 million for residential school survivors, but efforts for Catholic cathedrals and other buildings across Canada reached...

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 12:47:19

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

Catholic Church raised nearly $300M for buildings since promising residential school survivors $25M in 2005 | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Catholic Church raised nearly $300M for buildings since promising residential school survivors $25M...

Catholic officials argued in court they could only fundraise a total of $3.9 million for residential school survivors, but efforts for Catholic cathedrals and other buildings across Canada reached...

Jason Warick · 6/7/2021, 13:05:26

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 6

Here's the list @cbcsaskatoon compiled of $292M in fundraising/spending for Cdn Catholic cathedrals/churches since 2005. That's the year church leaders promised "best efforts" to raise $25M for residential school survivors, but stopped at less than $4M.

Jason Warick · 5/7/2021, 13:31:58

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 5

ICYMI: Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors following @CBCSaskatoon investigation, boycott calls. cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors | CBC News

Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan are restarting fundraising efforts for residential school survivors and their families. The announcement follows calls for a church boycott until the $25 million...

Jason Warick · 5/7/2021, 13:33:57

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 5

First Nations leaders say it's a + step but want details. They hope bishops in other prov's will also help raise the $25M promised in 2005.

Jason Warick · 5/7/2021, 13:38:40

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 5

Thx to @CBCNorth @LorenMcGinnis for having me on this morning to talk about the Catholic church's failed $25M fundraising drive for survivors, the history, and this weekend's promise by #Sask bishops to restart efforts.

Jason Warick · 5/7/2021, 01:25:03

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 5

UPDATED - Sask First Nations leaders say it's a positive step, but they want to see timelines, $ details etc before deciding whether to call off the boycott of Catholic churches. cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors | CBC News

Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan are restarting fundraising efforts for residential school survivors and their families. The announcement follows calls for a church boycott until the $25 million...

Jason Warick · 5/7/2021, 01:26:19

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 5

"We have some good faith, but we had that previously and it didn't materialize." -Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief @felixthomas377.

Jason Warick · 4/7/2021, 18:16:10

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 4

NEW: Sask Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors | CBC News

Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan are restarting fundraising efforts for Indian residential school survivors and their families.

Jason Warick · 4/7/2021, 18:19:03

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 4

It follows a CBC News investigation this week into the political and legal events that resulted in less than $4 million being raised. See here: cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential...

Under the landmark Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, Catholic churches promised to raise $25 million to compensate tens of thousands of survivors for damages inflicted. Only a fraction...

Jason Warick · 4/7/2021, 18:22:21

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 4

"We have heard the strong request, from Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people in various quarters to initiate a new fundraising campaign to support survivors and engage more deeply in our own ongoing commitment and response to the Truth and Reconciliation process.” -Sask bishops.

Jason Warick · 4/7/2021, 18:23:49

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 4

It's unclear when the campaign will begin, what the target dollar amount will be or whether bishops in other provinces will follow. Sask say more details coming soon.

Jason Warick · 4/7/2021, 18:26:22

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 4

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, dir of the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre commended the bishops, said outside monitoring and transparency will be vital.

Jason Warick · 4/7/2021, 18:17:35

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 4

The announcement follows calls for a church boycott until the $25M fundraising goal made by Catholic church bodies in the landmark 2005 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement is achieved. Just over $21M remains.

Show this thread

Jason Warick · 2/7/2021, 22:56:06

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 2

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Sask - so far, less than $4M of the church's $25M fundraising pledge to residential school survivors in 2005 has been met. cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Saskatchewan | CBC News

First Nations leaders in Canada are calling on the Catholic Church to pay the full $25 million promised to residential school survivors in 2005 as part of a settlement. So far, just $4 million has...

Jason Warick · 2/7/2021, 22:58:27

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jul 2

Okanagan Indian Band chief Byron Louis said it's upsetting church officials claim they don't have money to help survivors and their families while they build and renovate churches across Canada. "Is that what Jesus would do?"

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 20:25:04

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

And thx to elder/survivor Frank Badger for telling your story on @cbcasithappens. Badger is a member of Mistawasis Nehiyawak and Rick Daniels' brother. cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-2…

Residential school survivor who lives near $28M Saskatoon cathedral is still waiting for Catholic...

In 2005, the Catholic Church agreed to raise $25 million to compensate residential school survivors. But they successfully argued in court they were only able to raise $4 million. Survivor Frank...

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:52:40

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

Here's the version that appeared on @CBCTheNational. Thanks to elders Rick Daniels and Judy Greyeyes for sharing these stories. cbc.ca/player/play/191581344…

Renewed push for Catholic Church to compensate residential school...

Residential school survivors accuse the Catholic Church of failing to live up to its promise to raise $25 million in compensation for pain, suffering and abuse, even while it successfully raises tens...

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:46:19

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

My story yesterday ICYMI: 'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential...

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:25:41

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

Critics blast Catholic Church for spending while commitment to residential school survivors remains unmet | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Critics blast Catholic Church for spending after commitment to residential school survivors went...

A growing chorus across Canada is demanding the Catholic Church pay the full $25 million it once promised to residential school survivors — saying it's shameful for the money to remain unpaid while...

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:29:21

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

"I think it's very disappointing. The Catholic Church has a lot of work to do to make amends." @mayomoran, provost and vice-chancellor of Trinity College @UofT .

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:30:49

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

"You can see a pattern of avoiding financial responsibility and extreme litigiousness. It doesn't reflect well on the (Catholic) church." -fmr @UofT law dean @mayomoran

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:31:46

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

"It's an absolute embarrassment. All efforts should be going to helping survivors and their families, not to buildings." @fsinations Chief Bobby Cameron.

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:38:07

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

@CBCSask has learned of: -a current $17M campaign for cathedral renos and new const in Regina. -a $16M shrine/church in Canmore, Alta (2020) -a $28.5M cathedral in Saskatoon (2012) Critics say the $25M national promise to res school survivors should come 1st. Raised so far? $4M.

Jason Warick · 30/6/2021, 18:40:52

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 30

Catholic church leaders in #yxe, #yqr #sask say they'd support more fundraising for survivors but have not announced any details/donations.

Jason Warick · 29/6/2021, 12:41:23

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 29

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential...

Jason Warick · 29/6/2021, 12:45:32

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 29

I'll be on @CBCSaskatoon radio w @LeishaCBC in 30min to discuss how the Catholic church built a $28.5M cathedral in #yxe #sask while critics say the fundraising promise to residential school survivors was largely forgotten.

Jason Warick · 29/6/2021, 13:42:03

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 29

And on radio in 2 min w @TweeterMillsCBC @CBCSask to discuss the efforts to make the Catholic church pay the full $25M promised to survivors.

Jason Warick · 25/6/2021, 20:26:41

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 25

RCMP pledge to help if Cowessess First Nation pursues criminal charges for alleged bulldozing of grave markers | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

RCMP pledge to help if Cowessess First Nation pursues criminal charges for alleged bulldozing of...

Saskatchewan RCMP say they will work with Cowessess First Nation leaders if they pursue criminal charges over the apparent bulldozing of grave markers.

Jason Warick · 25/6/2021, 00:24:32

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 25

Again:

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Replying to @WarickCBC

Cowesses Chief @cadmusd reminded anyone who needs to call the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line # 1-866-925-4419. There will also be a Sask number starting this afternoon - 306 522-7494.

Show this thread

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 22:03:04

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Frank Badger remembers the disappearance at St. Michael's of his friend, a 6y.o. girl named Lucille. "I asked them where she went and they told me, 'Mind your own business.' I never saw Lucille again. To this day I wonder what happened. But I remember her name."

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 22:08:12

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"I used to use those brushes for scrubbing floors, tried to scrub the brown off. "We were called savages, pagans, heathans. How could I be these things? I was 6 years old. Just a little kid." -St. Michael's Catholic res school survivor Frank Badger.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 22:08:46

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"There needs to be healing. I'm hoping and praying they don't find any more, but I'm skeptical. I think they will." -survivor Frank Badger.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 22:18:49

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Frank Badger and his wife Barbara, who joked Frank can do all the talking today, have been together more than 42 years. They helped each other deal w res school trauma, the loss of their 3 children, etc. He taught Cree and other subjects at schools across the Praires.

Show this thread

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 21:55:55

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Just observed protocol w/elders Frank and Barbara Badger before we spoke about #sask survivors' responses to the discovery of more than 700 unmarked graves at Cowessess First Nation.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 21:59:54

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Frank Badger spoke of his time at St. Michael's Catholic Indian Residential School. Says he was beaten regularly w 2x4 boards, straps and other "weapons" but considers himself "lucky to be alive" after hearing about Kamloops and Cowessess.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:13:40

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

BREAKING: 751 unmarked graves have been found at Cowessess First Nation's res school site, says Chief Cadmus Delorme.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:15:49

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Delorme says the technology used has a 15% margin of error. Some may be adults as well found in the Roman Catholic church site.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:16:20

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"We always knew there were graves here." -@cadmusd

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:17:09

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Delorme noted this is not a mass grave, but rather a site of hundreds of unmarked graves.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:18:16

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"We all must put down our ignorance...we are not asking for pity. We are asking for understanding. We need time to heal." -Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:19:52

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Delorme says they will now work to identify these unmarked graves. "It''s going to hurt (but) this country needs to have truth and reconciliation. This is the moment of our truth."

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:20:58

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"We are treating this as a crime scene at the moment." -Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:24:49

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Cowessess knowledge keeper Florence Sparvier (and 3rd gen survivor) speaking now: "They told us what to say...they were not nice. They told us our parents and grandparents...were all heathens. They taught us to not like who we were."

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:25:50

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"A lot of the pain we see in our people now comes from there." -Cowessess knowledge keeper Florence Sparvier.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:29:45

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

@fsinations Chief Bobby Cameron speaking now: "This was a crime against humanity, an assault on First Nations people. The only crime we committed as children was being born Indigenous."

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:31:59

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"We pray for all of these children and their families," said @fsinations Chief Bobby Cameron. "We are seeing the results of the genocide Canada committed on treaty land."

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:33:09

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Cameron said church and government can start by handing over all records immediately.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:37:32

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Statements complete, media from Spain, Germany etc now asking questions about Catholic Church, etc.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:40:00

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

"The Pope needs to apologize." -Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme, when asked what message he has for the Catholic Church. Delorme said the @Pontifex apology on Cdn soil would be "one step" of many.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:11:08

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Virtual new conference has begun from Cowessess First Nation, includes Chief Cadmus Delorme, @fsinations Chief Bobby Cameron and others.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 15:12:53

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Cowesses Chief @cadmusd reminded anyone who needs to call the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line # 1-866-925-4419. There will also be a Sask number starting this afternoon - 306 522-7494.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 14:41:23

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

News conf in 20min will give details of the Cowessess First Nation's discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves found at fmr res school site. Again, the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line # is 1-866-925-4419. cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche…

Sask. First Nation announces hundreds of unmarked graves found at former residential school site |...

A news release from Cowessess and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations did not give a specific number, but said it will be the most found to date in Canada.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 13:29:32

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

I'll be on in 10 min w @LeishaCBC @CBCSaskatoon to discuss today's news conf at Cowessess First Nation re: the hundreds of unmarked graves discovered there.

Show this thread

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 12:42:35

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

At 9am CST, Cowesses First Nation and @fsinations hosting news conf re: hundreds of unmarked graves found at fmr residential school site. cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche…

Sask. First Nation announces hundreds of unmarked graves found at former residential school site |...

A news release from Cowessess and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations did not give a specific number, but said it will be the most found to date in Canada.

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 12:47:16

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

In 20min, I'll be speaking w @SLangeneggerCBC @cbcsask about the discovery of graves, the history and what to expect at today's virtual news conference from Cowessess First Nation. cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-6…

The Morning Edition - Sask with Stefani Langenegger | Live Radio | CBC Listen

The Morning Edition is Regina’s #1 rated morning show. We connect you with the people, news, culture that make this city and province great. Join the conversation weekdays from 6:00 to 8:30am on CBC...

cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche…

Jason Warick · 24/6/2021, 04:12:24

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 24

Sask. First Nation announces hundreds of unmarked graves found at former residential school site |...

A news release from Cowessess and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations did not give a specific number, but said it will be the most found to date in Canada.

Omayra Issa · 23/6/2021, 22:37:26

Jason Warick retweeted

Omayra Issa @OmayraIssa

Jun 23

If you need emotional assistance, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-866-925-4419.

Jason Warick · 23/6/2021, 22:04:26

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 23

BREAKING: The Cowessess First Nation has found hundreds of unmarked graves following a search of the Marieval Residential School site, acc to @fsinations.

Jason Warick · 23/6/2021, 22:07:18

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 23

More details will be available at a news conf tomorrow, but it would be the largest such discovery in Canada to date, says @fsinations

Jason Warick · 23/6/2021, 22:11:50

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 23

The Marieval Indian Residential School was run between 1899 and 1997 in southern #sask by the Roman Catholic Church (first by four Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions de Lyon and later the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Hyacinthe.)

Jason Warick · 23/6/2021, 22:27:39

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 23

"We're doing this to make sure that we will never forget the ones that have gone before us," Cowessess First Nation Chief @cadmusd said on May 30 as the search began.

Jason Warick · 16/6/2021, 13:25:10

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 16

'You just adapt': Sask. physiotherapist keeping Canadian women's Olympic basketball squad healthy | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

'You just adapt': Sask. physiotherapist keeping Canadian women's Olympic basketball squad healthy |...

The Canadian women's basketball team has risen to fourth in the world under coach Lisa Thomaidis, but she isn't the only Saskatoon product responsible for the team's success.

Jason Warick · 16/6/2021, 03:31:20

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 16

This huge branch came down during tonight’s high winds/rain/hail in front of Ecole Victoria on Broadway Ave #yxe #sask. The lights are still flashing.

Jason Warick · 11/6/2021, 20:13:55

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 11

Sask. First Nations leaders call for Catholics to boycott Sunday mass over residential school issues | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Sask. First Nations leaders call for Catholics to boycott Sunday mass over residential school...

Saskatchewan First Nations leaders are calling on Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass until church leaders do more for residential school survivors.

Jason Warick · 11/6/2021, 15:10:51

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 11

“People are grieving and in pain.” -⁦@fsinations⁩ vice-chief David Pratt (right) w ⁦@felixthomas377⁩ calling for ⁦@Pontifex⁩ to come to Canada and issue a residential school apology.

Jason Warick · 11/6/2021, 15:12:36

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 11

“It can’t become yesterday’s news. We need to keep this front and centre.” -@felixthomas377 re: calls for @Pontifex to apologize in Canada for the Catholic Church’s central role in residential schools.

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 13:28:59

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

Sask. Catholic churches delay, reject calls to release internal files on abuser priests | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Sask. Catholic churches delay, reject calls to release internal files on abuser priests | CBC News

Joey Basaraba, who says he was sexually abused for years starting at age six by two Prince Albert, Sask., priests, is joining renewed national calls for church transparency.

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 13:32:49

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

"I wondered, 'How could anyone do these things to kids?' But I also wonder, 'What kind of sick person covers this stuff up?'" -#sask survivor Joey Basarba joins calls for Catholic Church to release all records on residential schools and abuser priests/staff.

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 13:42:10

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

Basaraba is Indigenous but attended a day school. He says he's suing bc he wants the world to know the truth. The diocese doesn't deny Basaraba was abused by 2 priests. But it claims he took too long to sue, and says only the two dead priests are liable, not the diocese.

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 13:48:43

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

Saskatoon Roman Cath diocese: said internal abuser priest records would be released this past spring. Now says "near future." P.A.: getting new bishop this month, say he'll "deal w the documents as he sees fit." Regina: said in 2019 it would release docs but reversed position

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 13:52:52

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

Regina Archibishop Donald Bolen said survivors advised him to not release the records, but hinted at the magnitude of the damage. "There is a significant legacy of clergy sexual abuse in the archdiocese, and … every deanery, every major parish, is a part of that legacy."

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 13:54:54

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

One survivor said Bolen has done a lot to walk together with victims, incl special prayer services, a civilian oversight board for any complaints, and the hiring of an independent counsellor for victims to access for free, whether they are still church members or not.

Jason Warick · 10/6/2021, 14:00:46

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 10

The Roman Catholic dioceses admit they have internal records of child abuse and sexual assault, but there's no indication #Sask police or Crown prosecutors have requestd/demanded the records as they have across the US and Europe.

Jason Warick · 8/6/2021, 13:00:44

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 8

Renewed calls for Pope to visit Sask. to apologize for residential schools after 2017 effort failed | CBC News cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon…

Renewed calls for Pope to visit Sask. to apologize for residential schools after 2017 effort failed...

Despite high hopes that Pope Francis would visit the province in 2017 and apologize for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's residential school system, the plan didn't go ahead and no explanation...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatchewan-chief-residential-schools-pope-francis-1.6057016?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

Jason Warick · 8/6/2021, 13:08:11

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 8

"We need to hear from the captain of the ship...It needed to happen then. It really needs to happen now." -Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief @felixthomas377 re: 2017 effort to bring @Pontifex to #Sask for residential school apology.

Jason Warick · 8/6/2021, 13:13:40

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 8

"Wouldn't it be powerful if Catholics said, 'I'm not going to go to my church until this is made right?'" -Chief Felix Thomas calling for @Pontifex to visit Sask for a residential school apology.

Jason Warick · 8/6/2021, 13:24:38

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 8

@felixthomas377 @fsinations @AFN_Updates etc. calling for: 1. Release of all Catholic church records on residential schools and abuser priests. 2. Payment of the full $25M the church promised to survivors. 3. An apology from @Pontifex at @Wanuskewin or other Cdn. location.

Jason Warick · 8/6/2021, 13:30:27

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 8

In 2017, the Vatican's ambassador or "apostolic nuncio" to Canada, Luigi Bonazzi, told @CBCNews Pope Francis would "make every effort" to come to Canada and reconciliation was a top priority.

Jason Warick @WarickCBC

Jun 8

In March 2018, the group representing Canada's bishops issued a public letter to "Indigenous Peoples of Canada" saying Pope Francis "felt that he could not personally respond" to calls for a residential school apology

Renewed calls for Pope to visit Sask. to apologize for residential schools after 2017 effort failed

'It needed to happen then. It really needs to happen now,' Chief Felix Thomas says

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jun 08, 2021 2:00 AM CT

Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief Felix Thomas was at the centre of a massive but failed effort to bring Pope Francis to Saskatchewan in 2017 to apologize for the Catholic Church's central role in the residential school system. (Jason Warick/CBC)

For a brief period in 2016, Chief Felix Thomas allowed himself to believe that Pope Francis would come to Saskatchewan.

"We were very hopeful. We thought it was going ahead," said Thomas, chief of the Kinistin Saulteaux Nation.

Thomas and then-Saskatoon bishop Don Bolen, who is now archbishop of Regina, had worked for months building support across Canada among First Nations residential school survivors, church leaders and all levels of government to secure a papal visit to Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just outside Saskatoon.

There, the plan was that Francis would apologize for the Catholic Church's central role in the Indian residential school system in Canada.

But their efforts failed, and Thomas said no reason was given.

"I guess they were just hoping people would forget about it," he said Monday in an interview with CBC News.

Canadian First Nations leaders are calling on Pope Francis, shown in April on Easter, to come to Canada and issue an apology for the church's role in residential schools. (Filippo Monteforte/The Associated Press)

Thomas is now joining a growing chorus demanding that Pope Francis reconsider after the recent discovery by British Columbia's Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation of an unmarked burial site at the Kamloops Indian Residential School that the band says contains the remains of 215 children.

"It needed to happen then. It really needs to happen now," he said.

Canadians should be prepared for more discoveries like Kamloops, Murray Sinclair says

Most say Saskatchewan's residential school death toll is far higher than the 566 confirmed cases

Thomas agreed to share details of their extensive efforts, hoping it will motivate Catholic parishioners to join the fight this time. They want a papal apology on Canadian soil, a release of all residential school files and church records of abusive clergy, and the Catholic Church to pay the full $25 million it promised to survivors as part of a national settlement agreement.

"It's one thing for us First Nations people to say this," Thomas said. "But wouldn't it be powerful if Catholics said, 'I'm not going to go to my church until this is made right?'"

Indigenous leaders call for formal apology from the Pope and Catholic Church

1 month ago

4:28

FSIN Vice-Chief says acknowledgement and accountability would help lead people to healing 4:28

Bold plans had wide support

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its six-volume final report on residential schools in late 2015. Aside from cataloguing the individual and systemic abuses perpetrated on more than 150,000 students and their families, the TRC called on the Pope to apologize on Canadian soil. The Catholic Church ran more than half of the country's residential schools.

Thomas was chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council at the time. After many conversations with survivors and First Nations leaders, an idea began to form. They would bring Pope Francis to apologize at Wanuskewin, a Cree word meaning "sanctuary." The 5,000-year-old gathering place for First Nations people is on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Organizers hoped the Pope would visit Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just outside Saskatoon, to issue an apology. The 5,000-year-old gathering place for First Nations people is now on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Matthew Kruchak/CBC)

Thomas said he saw Francis as a more progressive pope who has spoken out against climate change, Islamophobia and a host of other issues. Saskatchewan had more residential school students per capita than any other province. And, as the TRC report noted, the previous pope apologized in Ireland to abuse victims of six priests there.

He worked closely with Bolen, and Thomas said they solicited advice from elders and survivors to see what they wanted and how proper protocol could be respected.

Truth and Reconciliation offers 94 'calls to action'

Thomas said they had the full support of the Assembly of First Nations, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, then-Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall and leaders at all levels of government.

They planned logistics. It would be the biggest, most elaborate event in the province's history. They had worked out initial details of a fundraising campaign.

Positive reception went nowhere

With all of this in place, Thomas flew to Ottawa and hand-delivered the pontiff's invitation to the Vatican's ambassador or "apostolic nuncio" to Canada at the time, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi.

Bonazzi was receptive, and it seemed things were coming together. Shortly after, Bonazzi told CBC News that Francis would "make every effort" to come to Canada and that reconciliation was a top priority.

Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi met with supporters of bringing the pontiff to Saskatchewan when he was the Vatican's ambassador, or 'apostolic nuncio,' to Canada in late 2016. He said Francis would 'make every effort' to visit. (Apostolic Nunciature in Canada)

"If something wrong was done and something remains to be done, you do it," he said in an interview at the time.

Three months later, in March 2017, Bolen raised the issue during a personal audience with Pope Francis during a larger meeting at the Vatican when he was archbishop of Regina.

"We spoke about the challenges Indigenous people face in our culture and also about the gifts they bring. About our efforts to learn to walk together with Indigenous people," Bolen said in an interview at the time.

A few months later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did the same during a visit to the Vatican.

Bonazzi eventually told them 2017 was out of the question, but he was confident the visit would still happen in 2018 or 2019.

Then there was silence.

Reconciliation a top priority for Pope Francis, says ambassador

Thomas said he never received a reply from the Vatican, and his hope slowly faded until he realized the visit wasn't going to happen.

In March 2018, the group representing Canada's bishops issued a public letter to "Indigenous Peoples of Canada" saying the Pope "felt that he could not personally respond." It said the church is a decentralized organization and that it's better for reconciliation to occur at the local level.

Parliament gets involved

The House of Commons passed a nearly unanimous motion, introduced by the NDP and opposed by only a handful of Conservative members, calling for the Pope to come to Canada and apologize.

Thomas said the church's reasons don't make sense.

Pope Francis needs to 'walk the walk' with residential schools apology: MP

"We need to hear from the captain of the ship," he said.

Thomas said he is particularly frustrated about the $25 million the church promised as part of a settlement agreement. Other churches involved in the settlement, such as the United and Anglican churches, paid their portions years ago, but the Catholic Church has left it largely to individual parishes and diocese to come up with the money.

Archbishop of Regina Don Bolen, left, is shown with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2017, when he made the case for a papal visit and residential school apology at Saskatchewan's Wanuskewin Heritage Park. (Submitted)

Bolen and others said individual dioceses don't have that kind of money. Church members were asked to contribute, but only $3.7 million had been paid from Catholic churches across Canada, according to the last publicly available figures.

Thomas said it would take only a fraction of one per cent of the Vatican's vast wealth to meet its obligations to residential school survivors. The extent of the Catholic Church's total wealth is not public, but Vatican officials released limited statements last year revealing $6 billion Cdn in Vatican Bank holdings.

Bolen said he was busy meeting with survivors and others on Monday and was not available for comment.

Catholic Church withholding millions from victims, alleges government

'It's time Canada started listening to survivors': Cree lawyer says B.C. discovery more evidence of genocide

Thomas said the Catholic Church and Pope Francis need to take action and he'll help organize a possible visit in any way he can.

"They played a role in genocide. They were trying to get rid of the Indian problem," he said.

"This will be a continuing stain if they don't do what's right."

Corrections

A previous version of this story said Wanuskewin Heritage Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, it's on UNESCO's tentative list of potential sites.
Jun 08, 2021 8:22 AM CT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Warick

Reporter

Jason Warick is a reporter with CBC Saskatoon.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-2-as-it-happens

As It Happens with Carol Off, Chris Howden

Residential school survivor who lives near $28M Saskatoon cathedral is still waiting for Catholic church compensation

8:31

In 2005, the Catholic Church agreed to raise $25 million to compensate residential school survivors. But they successfully argued in court they were only able to raise $4 million. Survivor Frank Badger says that's a slap in the face. He spoke with As It Happens guest host Nil Köksal. [WARNING: This story contains distressing details. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.]

Aired: June 29, 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/june-29-2021-episode-transcript-1.6087120

As It Happens

June 29, 2021 Episode Transcript

Hosts: Nil Koksal and Chris Howden

MIKE BROOKS: Hello, I’m Mike Brooks, sitting in for Carol Off.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is “As It Happens”.

[music: theme]

CH: Tonight:

CH: Fund farewell. A residential school survivor says the Catholic Church in Canada has never made compensation a priority -- paying survivors little while spending millions on a new state-of-the-art cathedral.

Part 2: Catholic Church Compensation, Bill 96 Critic

Catholic Church Compensation

Guest: Frank Badger

CH: The Catholic Church and its religious orders have signalled that they're open to releasing records about the residential schools they ran. But paying out compensation is another story. Today, CBC Saskatoon is reporting just how little the Catholic Church has paid, specifically in Saskatchewan. In 2005, the church committed to raising 25-million dollars to pay survivors across Canada. So far, it has paid only four million -- and just 34-thousand to survivors in Saskatoon. At the same time in Saskatoon, the local Roman Catholic Diocese spent 28 million dollars building a state-of-the-art cathedral. That, coupled with the recent confirmation of unmarked graves in Kamloops and Cowessess First Nation, leaves Frank Badger feeling disheartened. Mr. Badger is a residential school survivor who lives near that new cathedral in Saskatoon. And a warning that parts of this interview are disturbing.

NK: So, Frank, you live very close to this new multimillion dollar cathedral. What is it like to see it and live so close to it?

FRANK BADGER: It’s very good feeling. It's not a very good feeling because I know what's going on behind the scenes, I'll say, you know? They're willing to pay for... what is it? A 29 million dollar cathedral?

NK: Twenty-eight-and-a-half million, yeah.

FB: Twenty-eight-and-a-half million cathedral. And yet, for all the damage they’ve done from... from where I went to school in Duck Lake at Saint Michael's Residential School. It was built in 1894, and it shut down in 1996. So that's over 100 years. And all that damage they’ve done over that time, they’re reluctant to pay 25 million dollars? I don't understand that.

NK: We should let our listeners know that the Catholic Church agreed to raise 25 million dollars to pay survivors of residential schools. So far, they've only paid out four million dollars. What do you make of that ratio?

FB: It’s not right. It's just not right. They're so reluctant to let go of their money, you know, unless it benefits them. Like, I was in residential school for 10 years. And just to let you know what kind of people they were for money, they used little pictures of... little pictures of a little kid on there. And they used to call them pagan babies. That's what they called us to. They called us pigs. They called us savages, heathens and pagans. But what they used to do is when you got mail and if you got money from your parents, say if you got a quarter, they’d take five to ten cents out of there for the pagan baby. And back then, five and ten cents was a lot of money.

NK: I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Frank.

FB: No, I mean, it's... I don't know

NK: You, as I understand it, became a teacher when you grew up?

FB: Yes. Well, actually, I became an alcoholic first. I drank for about 20 years. And when I decided to sober up, my daughter was six months old. And I realized that what was happening to my... to my kids is what happened to me with my mom. I was neglected. I was abused. I was... you know? That's how I went if I don’t do something with my life now, my... my kids are going to be raised exactly the same way I was raised in residential school. And I've been sober now for 41 years.

NK: Bravo. Congratulations.

FB: I decided to go back to school. I finished my grade 12. I went straight into university and I got my degree in education. And as a matter of fact, I just retired about three or four years ago -- after 27 years as a teacher.

NK: The reason I brought up the fact that you were a teacher is because it's such an interesting decision that you made, given what you experienced. And I wondered how it informed the kind of teacher you were, what you told the classes about your experience?

FB: What I told the classes about my experiences were one incident really kept coming back to my mind, and that was a spelling class with Sister Anthony in grade three. And they had about twelve words on the board. And she said there's two words that sound the same. And that was ate like I ate something and there was eight people. But what I looked at was there's eight and snake. So that’s what I told her, I said, eight and snake sound the same. Oh my goodness. I couldn't believe, she come up and slapped me on the head, and she said, what’s the matter with you? Are you stupid? It’s obvious! Oh my goodness, you're an idiot -- just really degrading me. And, for me, all the things that happened in a residential school were lived experiences that I didn't want to do to other kids.

NK: Having lived all of that, when you learn that... that lawyers with the Catholic Church successfully argued in court that churches tried their best to raise the money promised -- that 25 million dollars for survivors -- but had no more money to give, how do you respond? How do you process that?

FB: Aww, you can't? It's so ridiculous, you know? Catholic religion is the biggest business, one of the biggest businesses in the world. It's worth about six billion dollars. And they have all these others that are bigger than Saskatchewan. Now, where in the world had they come up with 25 million dollars? Not only did their actions cause a lot of damage within families. But now, they're refusing to help these people like myself to get back on track, to get my life back. And the pope not apologizing. Why won't he apologize? I can’t understand.

NK: If you could speak to the pope directly or even closer to home, to the Roman Catholic diocese of Saskatoon, what would you say to them?

FB: Woah-ho-ho-ho-ho! I would use a few choice words that I can’t say over the phone, nor to anybody. I mean, I feel, like, I'm still angry with the nuns and the priests, you know? I to a meeting in Saskatoon here from where I work. And they had four questions on the board. The one I really remember, if you could bring a historical figure back into now, what would you say to this historical figure? And I told them I would bring Sir. John A. MacDonald here, and I ask him what the hell is going on in his mind when he decided to do this to the Native people?

NK: You've known, and so many other people have known, you know, the kinds of things that happened at these residential schools. But the stories coming out of Kelowna and Cowessess, do you think we're at a point that... that these realities will put a different level of pressure on the Catholic Church to do more this time?

FB: Huh, that's a good question. When I heard about the Kamloops, with the 215 kids, I cried. I literally broke down and cried. And I don’t know if I feel guilty or lucky that I got out of residential school alive? After seeing that, especially with Cowessess and the 751 unmarked graves they found there. Thinking about it now is very scary.

NK: I just want to make sure you're OK because you've been so generous with your time and your stories. Do you have support with you? Do you --

FB: I have my biggest support with me right here. And that's my wife. I can talk to her about anything. And she herself has been to residential school.

NK: I'm so glad you have each other, Frank. And I'm so fortunate that we got to speak. Really, thank you so much for your time.

FB: Oh, you're quite welcome.

NK: Please take care.

FB: I will. Thank you very much. You have a good day.

NK: You too.

FB: OK. Bye-bye.

CH: Frank Badger is a residential school survivor. We reached him in Saskatoon. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support to anyone affected. That 24-hour hotline number is: 1-866-925-4419.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/church-residential-school-compensation-1.6082935

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

Church officials say they tried their best but could only raise fraction of $25M promised

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jun 29, 2021 2:00 AM CT

Saskatoon Catholics raised $28.5 million to build this cathedral in 2012, while a written promise to compensate residential school survivors was largely ignored, critics say. The story was similar across Canada. (Jason Warick/CBC)

Residential school survivor Rick Daniels and his wife, Judy Greyeyes, live in a small apartment just a few kilometres from Saskatoon's towering $28.5-million Holy Family Cathedral.

The cathedral features solar-powered stained glass windows, a carved granite altar, seating for 2,000 people and a steel cross that sits 53 metres above ground, dominating the suburban Prairie skyline. The church opened in 2012 following a massive, multi-year fundraising campaign.

But while all this was happening, critics say another financial commitment was largely forgotten.

Roman Catholic churches in Saskatoon and across Canada had also signed an agreement promising to raise $25 million to compensate Daniels and tens of thousands of other survivors for the emotional, physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition, cultural shaming and systemic violations of basic human rights suffered in Catholic-run residential schools.

"They were told to take the Indian out of the child at all costs, and they took it literally," said Daniels, 73, a member of Mistawasis Nehiyawak who attended St. Michael's Indian Residential School north of Saskatoon.

The $25 million — part of the sweeping Indian Residential School Survivor Agreement (IRSSA) — was supposed to help survivors, and also provide counselling and support for their families.

But most of that money was never raised.

Residential school survivor Rick Daniels and his wife, Judy Greyeyes, spoke recently with CBC News outside their Saskatoon apartment. If the Catholic Church decides to honour its full $25 million commitment to survivors, Daniels and Greyeyes would like the money to help future generations heal. (Jason Warick/CBC)

While the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon and its 80,000 members spent $28.5 million on the new cathedral, they raised just $34,650 for survivors.

The story was similar in other cities. Canada's 12 million Catholics donated less than $4 million of the promised $25 million — roughly 30 cents per person.

After several years, the federal government told the Catholic Church to pay up.

Instead, church officials hired one of Canada's top lawyers, who, in a private court hearing, successfully argued that the country's Catholic churches had tried their best and had no more to give.

Daniels doesn't believe them. "I'm not too keen on their lack of willingness to help people. I guess they were thinking about that building instead," he said.

Daniels's wife said if local parishioners and churches won't help survivors, the Vatican should pay.

"The Roman Catholic Church is filthy rich but they're hesitant to do the right thing," Greyeyes said. "It's not for us. Help the future generations who are paying the price."

Indigenous leaders secure papal audience to set stage for residential school apology

'Ashamed of my faith': Some Catholics struggle after discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools

Daniels and Greyeyes are not alone in their frustration.

CBC News has interviewed more than a dozen people with knowledge of the controversial $25-million deal, as well as the years of closed-door legal and political manoeuvring that followed. Some are speaking publicly about these events for the first time.

They're hoping the recent combined preliminary discoveries of nearly 1,000 unmarked graves at Catholic-run residential school sites in Kamloops, B.C., and the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan will spur the church to finally do the right thing.

"They should go back. They should raise the money, and then some. There is a spiritual and moral deficit here," said Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a former Saskatchewan provincial court judge and current director of the University of British Columbia's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

"You can't always fix a mistake, but now is the time to try."

'Things are shaky in Ottawa'

Peter Grant said he'll never forget the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 18, 2005. Grant and 60 fellow lawyers sat in a Toronto conference room negotiating terms of the landmark IRSSA.

Prime Minister Paul Martin had repeatedly called it one of his top priorities, appointing retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci to represent Canada at the talks and giving everyone one year to finalize the agreement.

They had five months to go. Grant said most were optimistic a deal could be reached by then.

But that afternoon, an official walked in and told them, "We've all got to work over the weekend. Things are shaky in Ottawa."

Pope Francis delivers a blessing after celebrating Easter Mass at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on April 4, 2021. Some say that if Canadian Catholic churches refuse to raise the full $25 million promised to residential school survivors, the Vatican should pay. (Filippo Monteforte/The Associated Press)

The growing rumours of a non-confidence motion against Martin's minority government had proven true. Opposition leader Stephen Harper was about to force a vote.

The lawyers needed a signed deal before the government fell. Grant cancelled his flight home to Vancouver.

The group worked almost non-stop. By Sunday evening, the main agreement was complete. They'd finalized plans for the historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for the Aboriginal Healing Fund, for residential school commemoration and for financial compensation.

"We were well aware of the political machinations in Ottawa. We pushed on as hard as we could for the survivors," said former Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Chief Phil Fontaine.

"It was not a perfect agreement, but I was proud of it. There was a lot there."

The government, the AFN, Inuit representatives and survivors' groups were all ready to sign, as were the Anglican, United and Presbyterian Churches. One holdout remained: the Catholic Church.

In previous years, the Catholic Church was the only church refusing to pay its 30 per cent share of survivors' claims. Now, its lawyers were also refusing to sign this deal.

Grant said there was immense pressure on everyone. "We were running out of time. We had to get past it," he said.

The government and Catholic lawyers went behind closed doors to hammer out a side deal. Catholic officials knew the pressure Martin was facing, and were also enraged over his government's recent legalization of same-sex marriage, said former Liberal MP and Prince Albert Grand Council Chief Gary Merasty.

"The Catholic Church was absolutely reluctant to take any responsibility. It was hard to pin them down," Merasty said.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a former Saskatchewan provincial court judge and current director of the University of British Columbia's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, says the Catholic Church betrayed survivors and used 'legal trickery' to escape paying the full $25-million compensation. (Mike McArthur/CBC)

The two sides eventually emerged and said the government would be responsible for collecting a negotiated amount directly from the church. Everyone agreed.

On Sunday, just before midnight, federal officials flew back to Ottawa with a copy of the agreement, Grant said. On Wednesday, following cabinet approval, Martin announced the deal. His government fell four days later.

But the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement — the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history — could not be cancelled by the incoming Harper regime.

Best efforts

The IRSSA was long and complex, so two words inserted into that Catholic side deal got little attention back in 2005. But those two words — "best efforts" — are at the heart of a multimillion-dollar question.

In the 78-page side deal, the Catholic Church first agreed to make a lump $29-million cash payment and $25 million of "in kind services" to survivors, such as counselling.

Today, Turpel-Lafond and others ask why the perpetrator was allowed to provide in-kind services to the victims.

Then, in Section 3.9 of Schedule O-3, there was one more promise: Catholic churches across the country promised to come up with another $25 million.

They legally agreed to a cross-Canada effort "consistent with the approach and means used by professionally managed national fundraising campaigns, including those operated by universities and hospital foundations."

The church was required to prove it gave its "best efforts."

When Grant saw the wording, he shook his head.

"Best efforts? That's useless. It's a big escape clause," he said.

Daniels was one of thousands to attend St. Michael's Indian Residential School near Duck Lake, Sask., which was one of the last in Canada to close in 1996. Daniels and others say abuse of all kinds was rampant. (Submitted by Warren Seesequasis)

Few doubted the church's ability to pay. After all, Catholics would soon raise $28.5 million for a new cathedral in Saskatoon alone. Many believed the Vatican could chip in if necessary.

The Catholic Church's global total wealth is not publicly available, but officials released limited statements last year revealing $6 billion in Vatican Bank holdings. The church is the largest non-governmental landowner in the world, according to the University of Notre Dame's Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate. Its holdings total roughly 177 million acres, an area slightly larger than the province of Saskatchewan.

How ground-penetrating radar helped discover 751 unmarked graves at Marieval Indian Residential School

Even many critics believed Canadian church officials would quickly raise the $25 million, because the legal and financial exposure was immense. Tens of thousands of damaged survivors and their lawyers had been poised to devastate government and church finances before the IRSSA was reached.

Looking south, abuser priest scandals were bankrupting churches across the U.S. One diocese in Minnesota was forced to pay 450 victims a total of $210 million.

The buyout

Seven years passed. By early 2013, the other church denominations — United, Anglican, Presbyterian — had long since paid their share. But less than $4 million had been raised nationally by the Catholic churches.

AFN Chief Fontaine, a survivor himself, even tried to help the church raise money. Churches in some major cities, like Calgary and Toronto, donated little or nothing toward the $25-million goal, he said. The churches also hadn't paid the full initial instalment of $29 million.

The federal government said it was time to pay.

Though it already had its own team of experienced lawyers, to deal with this situation, the Catholic Church turned to Gordon J. Kuski.

The Regina lawyer has won international acclaim defending class-action clients such as Monsanto, Telus and Pfizer, according to his firm's website. He's represented Saskatchewan judges in their last six salary negotiations.

Renewed calls for Pope to visit Sask. to apologize for residential schools after 2017 effort failed

Kuski and a federal lawyer began exchanging emails. The Catholic Church proposed a buyout.

When it became clear the churches were offering only $1.2 million more — far short of their stated commitment — the federal lawyer used phrases such as: "We may have a problem," and, "We have no agreement on the terms of the settlement."

After months of correspondence, there was still no written or verbal agreement.

Despite this, Kuski and the church said that didn't matter. They took the position a deal had actually been struck because of the expectations created in the emails.

The matter went to court.

On July 16, 2015, after a secret hearing the previous month, Justice Neil Gabrielson sided with the Catholic Church, saying the federal lawyer wasn't clear enough in his opposition to the proposal and a "reasonable person" would conclude a deal had been struck.

The Catholic churches quickly paid the $1.2 million buyout. They were still more than $21 million short of their commitment, but were absolved of any further legal or financial obligations.

The federal government, now led by Harper, chose not to appeal.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen admitted this week that efforts to raise funds for residential school survivors were 'weak.' In 2015, Catholic churches argued in court they'd made 'best efforts' to raise the promised $25 million, a key reason the judge allowed them to walk away from their commitment. (CBC)

'A legal back door'

Turpel-Lafond studied the case closely once the results were made public. She said the church betrayed survivors by using high-priced lawyers.

"They manipulated the legal system to their advantage. They found a legal back door. I know how that works out when it comes to issues for Indigenous people in Saskatchewan, and in Canada," said Turpel-Lafond, a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation north of Saskatoon.

The entire case is "an embarrassment to the legal profession in Saskatchewan," said Turpel-Lafond, and should be reviewed by the province's attorney general.

Sask. First Nations leaders call for Catholics to boycott Sunday mass over residential school issues

University of Calgary law professor Kathleen Mahoney, who helped craft the IRSSA while working for the AFN, also said she was disgusted.

"They relied on these highly technical arguments. It may have worked, but it's not very honourable. It's not moral. It's not ethical," Mahoney said.

Mahoney said it's ludicrous for the Catholic churches to claim they couldn't find the money.

Catholic Church leaders use the same techniques as other multinational corporations, she said: They decentralize and complicate the legal structure to avoid liability at the higher levels.

"The fact of the matter is the Vatican's wealth is immeasurable: paintings, statues, land, huge buildings all over the world," Mahoney said.

"It does nothing for reconciliation, nothing for survivors when your position is essentially, 'We won, we won!' and wave a legal decision around. Where is the soul of the church? Where is their soul?"

WATCH | Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says Canada let Catholic Church 'off the hook' for compensation deal:

'Canada let them off the hook': Director of UBC's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre says of Catholic Church compensation deal

10 days ago

4:50

'Certainly not pro-bono'

In an interview with CBC News this month, Kuski said a signed contract is not always necessary. Verbal or email exchanges can be binding, and the amount of money is irrelevant.

Kuski said he was instructed to tell the judge "best efforts" had been given by every church when it came to the fundraising.

"The fundraising efforts didn't bear much fruit," Kuski said. "[But] they said, 'Look, we did our best. This is all we could come up with.' That was their position and it was accepted."

Kuski declined to say how much the churches paid for his services, but did say he charged his full hourly rate during the lengthy process.

"It took some time to work through everything," Kuski said. "It was certainly not pro-bono."

Another veteran Regina lawyer, James S. Ehmann, has worked for decades for the Catholic churches on this case and other residential school files.

"The 'best efforts' language was not put forward to facilitate reneging on any obligations," Ehmann said in an interview.

"The status of the Martin government and the timing of an election had absolutely nothing to do with the settlement or the wording of the [initial] settlement, from my point of view.

"It has been my experience that Catholic entities were co-operative and compassionate, and continue to be so."

CBC News asked several other Catholic officials whether they still believe they gave "best efforts." None answered the question directly.

The Diocese of Saskatoon came closest. Bishop Mark Hagemoen declined several interview requests, but in an emailed statement, admitted the fundraising campaign for the $28.5-million cathedral "was indeed a major effort," while fundraising efforts for the thousands of residential school survivors was "weak."

Growing anger

Anger toward the Catholic Church has been growing since the Kamloops revelation. Since the Cowessess discovery was announced last week, several B.C. churches have been burned. Protests and boycotts are being organized across Canada.

Saskatoon's older downtown cathedral — the city now has two functioning cathedrals — was marked with red paint, including small handprints and three words: "We Were Children."

The doors of St. Paul's Co-Cathedral in downtown Saskatoon were painted in protest after the discovery of 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Residential School on the Cowessess First Nation last week. Protests, boycotts and other actions against the Catholic Church are being organized. (Donna Heimbecker/Facebook)

Mahoney, Merasty and others said there are other issues fuelling the anger: the failure of the Catholic Church to disclose all records from the schools, the refusal of Pope Francis to come to Canada and apologize, and fears that many more graves remain undiscovered. Most of all, there is a feeling that the Catholic Church is again failing to take responsibility.

As a starting point — and a show of good faith to survivors like Rick Daniels — the Catholic Church must pay the full $25 million outlined in the settlement, they say.

"The Catholic Church is fantastically wealthy," said Merasty, who toured the Vatican with his family several years ago. "There is a moral obligation here."

'A lot of other people need help'

Daniels says he's no longer 'full of anger and hate,' thanks in large part to his wife. The pair work as cultural advisers across Saskatoon, teaching young people how to take back their stolen identity. (Jason Warick/CBC)

Daniels still has nightmares of his time at St. Michael's. He feels anxious if someone approaches him from behind. He has to turn his head when listening, the result of repeated blows to his right ear.

But Daniels said he's no longer "full of anger and hate." He and his wife work as cultural advisers across Saskatoon, sometimes in the shadow of the new cathedral, teaching young people how to take back their stolen identity.

If the Catholic Church decides to pay, Daniels and Greyeyes say it should go to this new generation, funding things like family counselling and language programs — even bus passes or child care.

"I don't know what we'd do with it. We aren't fancy travellers or anything," Greyeyes said. "But a lot of other people need help."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

Corrections

A previous version of this story said Justice Neil Gabrielson's decision siding with the Catholic Church in regards to paying a $1.2 million buyout rather than the rest of the $25 million was made on July 15, 2016. In fact, the decision was delivered on July 16, 2015.
Jun 29, 2021 10:20 AM CT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Warick

Reporter

Jason Warick is a reporter with CBC Saskatoon.

https://engage.gov.bc.ca/addressingracism/turpel-lafond-launches-independent-investigation-into-indigenous-specific-racism-in-b-c-health-care/

Turpel-Lafond Launches Independent Investigation into Indigenous-specific Racism in B.C. Health Care

July 9, 2020

VICTORIA – An independent investigation into Indigenous-specific racism in British Columbia’s health care system was launched today by former judge and provincial child advocate Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond.

Appointed by Health Minister Adrian Dix on June 19 after highly disturbing allegations of racism in B.C. Emergency rooms came to light, Turpel-Lafond has now assembled her team for the investigation, established her terms of reference and launched a survey to collect and assess the experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people when they access health care.

“Our task is to address the specific incidents that have been reported, as well as to gauge the levels of systemic and individual racism that Indigenous people face when using the health care system in general,” Turpel-Lafond said. “I’m glad that the minister called for this independent investigation. Based on the emails, calls and stories we have received so far, it is very much needed.”

The investigation team includes members with direct clinical experience, knowledge of the health care system and expertise in conducting complex investigations. The review will be conducted in stages, starting with the investigation of troubling allegations that a ‘game’ has been played in hospital ERs which includes guessing the blood alcohol levels of Indigenous patients, and including a wider look at systemic racism in B.C. health care.

It will also feature a survey of Indigenous people in B.C., asking for their experiences in the health care system. That survey is now available on the Addressing Racism investigation website engage.gov.bc.ca/addressingracism.

“I urge Indigenous people to participate in our survey so that we can get an accurate picture of how broad these problems are,” Turpel-Lafond said. “This is your chance to speak.”

Anybody with specific experience or knowledge of racism in the health care system can also share their information via email at Addressing_Racism@gov.bc.ca or telephone at 1-888-600-3078. In addition to the public submissions, the investigation team plans to survey a wide range of workers in the health care system.

Turpel-Lafond said that racism can often be a barrier to Indigenous people accessing health care and that building confidence in the system is extremely important, especially during a pandemic, but also for the longer term. After examining the systemic racism that occurs in the health system, the investigation will make a number of recommendations designed to prompt necessary improvements.

“We want this report to lead to positive change,” Turpel-Lafond said. “The objective is to examine what is happening and to work to build confidence in a health care system that supports all people in this province.”

Quotes:

Cheryl Casimer, First Nations Summit Political Executive
“We fully support the investigation that will be undertaken by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and her team to look into the appalling incidents of racism in the B.C. health care system. Those who participated in these despicable acts damaged the trust and integrity of the system and must be held accountable for their actions. Every citizen in B.C. deserves to have a health care system built on integrity and universal equality. The incidents in question are unfortunately a reflection of the larger problem of systemic racism and bias that exists not only in the health care system but also the justice system, child welfare system and other sectors. We must collectively continue to stand up to address and resolve any and all incidents of systemic racism.”

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President, UBCIC
“Time and time again the lives of Indigenous peoples have been treated as dispensable by our governments and institutions; they continue to be gambled away in a game of callousness, apathy, and mockery. This must end now. We fully support an independent investigation led by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond into the prejudice hampering the administration of equitable and reliable health care as an essential step towards justice. It is a step towards rectifying the wider landscape of systemic racism in the province that has plagued the systems and services meant to support and protect Indigenous people and their rights.”

Regional Chief Terry Teegee, BC Assembly of First Nations
“The mistreatment of First Nations and minority peoples in B.C. health care is an ongoing scandal that must be rooted out and resolved quickly. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond will work to expose the extent and consequences of systemic racism in this sector and find ways to eliminate barriers to adequate and appropriate treatment that so many are finding elusive across the province right now. B.C. can do better and together we can bring an end to the unnecessary deaths and suffering by rebuilding trust and ethically humane behaviours in the delivery of health care.”

Clara Morin Dal Col, Métis Nation BC President
“It is critical for the Métis Nation that we do everything possible to root out any kind of systemic racism that exists within B.C.’s health care system. Every Indigenous person must be assured they are going to be treated equally and respectfully when it comes to getting the health services they are entitled to in British Columbia.”

M. Colleen Erickson, Chair, First Nations Health Authority Board of Directors
“Mary Ellen is doing very important work that will have great impact on the future health and well-being of First Nations in B.C. and across Canada. FNHA is happy to support this work.

Richard Jock, Interim Chief Executive Officer, First Nations Health Authority
“The FNHA looks forward to the outcomes of the review as a way to focus on improving cultural safety for First Nations in B.C. FNHA will look to provide appropriate ways to support participants who may be triggered by the final report’s disclosures.”

Charlene Belleau, Chair, First Nations Health Council
“The First Nations Health Council supports Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s investigation to take action to move beyond cultural safety and humility. We encourage B.C. Indigenous patients and health workers within the system to trust this process and come forward to tell their truth about racism.

“A consequence of the failure to acknowledge pervasive cultural racism against B.C. Indigenous people in the B.C. health care system would only allow society (or the BC health care system) to perpetuate racism and for our Indigenous people to not have the equal right to health care recognized under UNDRIP.

“We trust that this process will ensure that culturally appropriate processes will be established to provide the safety and security of B.C. Indigenous peoples to file, resolve complaints and access health care without fear of reprisal.”

Heidi M. Oetter, MD, Registrar and CEO, College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC
“The allegations of racism towards Indigenous people involving a ‘game’ to guess blood alcohol levels is inexcusable conduct for any health-care provider, especially in emergency rooms where people are most vulnerable and rely on medical professionals to care for them in their time of need. The College extends its full support to Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s investigation. If the investigation results in findings of racism involving a physician or surgeon (registrants of this College), the College would take swift action to open its own investigative file into the matter.”

Cynthia Johansen, Registrar & CEO, British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals and Chair, BC Health Regulators
“B.C.’s health regulators are united in their concern over these troubling allegations, and have committed to co-operating fully with Ms. Turpel-Lafond’s investigation. We are also reminding our registrants of their duty to report this type of behaviour, and to hold themselves and their colleagues to the highest professional standards. Normalizing this type of behaviour, or looking the other way when it occurs, is not acceptable.”

Louise Aerts, Executive Director/Registrar, College of Midwives of British Columbia
“Regulated health professionals have a duty to protect those they care for, particularly the most vulnerable. For an individual seeking care to be mocked and diminished by the very professionals trained to help them is a disgrace and should concern all health providers. We cannot tolerate this sort of behaviour and must call it out when we see it.”

Media Contact:

Jeff Rud

Communications and Engagement

Addressing Racism: An independent investigation into Indigenous-specific discrimination in B.C. health care

Cell: 250-216-4725

Email: jeff.rud@gov.bc.ca

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

Professor

Office:
Allard Hall, room 266
Phone: 604 822 4515

Email: turpel-lafond@allard.ubc.ca

https://www.woodwardandcompany.com/mary-ellen-turpel-lafond/

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/ Akikwe*

Senior Associate Counsel

In her role as senior associate counsel at Woodward and Company, Mary Ellen brings her extensive experience in the field of Aboriginal law to her current practice, which sees her appear at all levels of court on cases relating to land claims, Indigenous and human rights matters, and public law litigation. She is a tenured full Professor of Law at Peter Allard Hall Law School at the University of British Columbia and served as a Saskatchewan Provincial Court judge for 20 years.

During her time on the bench, Mary Ellen was actively involved in projects relating to better supports for Indigenous peoples, specifically the unique circumstances and needs of youth involved in the justice system. Ceaselessly advocating for children’s human rights, she later served as B.C.’s first Representative for Children and Youth (2006-2016), a role that saw her take on case advocacy for more than 17,000 youths and their families- most of whom were Indigenous peoples.

Mary Ellen holds a Doctorate in Law from Harvard Law School (S.J.D.), a master’s in international law from Cambridge University (Gonville and Caius College), a J.D. law degree from York University’s Osgoode Hall, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University. She also holds a Certificate in the international and comparative law of human rights from the University of Strasbourg.

Mary Ellen is a member of the Indigenous Bar as well as the Law Societies of British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. She’s been awarded for her contributions to the field of Aboriginal law multiple times, including the distinction of Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel from the Indigenous Bar Association in 2006, and honourary degrees from nine Canadian universities and Schools of Law. She is the author of more than 50 published works and reports.

* Denotes a law corporation.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

Email metl@woodwardandcompany.com

Assistant: Lisa Spaven

Email lisa@woodwardandcompany.com

Phone: 250.383.2356

Lisa meets her role as a legal assistant at Woodward and Company with more than 20 years of experience in the field. Stemming from her passion for the outdoors and her commitment to First Nations’ right to steward their traditional lands, she is especially interested in assisting with litigation that impacts environmental protections.

In this respect, Lisa strives for her work to have an impact on the creation and maintenance of corporations that are used to promote economic success and independence for First Nations communities. She is committed to handling the day-to-day needs of the firm’s corporate clients, as well as assisting the lawyers with their solicitor’s work.

Before her time as a legal assistant, Lisa received her legal assistant diploma and, following this, went to Camosun College to study arts and science with a focus on Indigenous studies. After many years of putting her studies to practice, she eventually joined Woodward and Company in 2016.

Over the course of her career, Lisa has contributed to a number of important claims involving First Nations, including obtaining an emergency injunction on behalf of a First Nation working towards protecting their sacred lands from mining.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/critics-blast-catholic-church-1.6086030

Critics blast Catholic Church for spending after commitment to residential school survivors went unmet

Archdiocese of Regina in middle of $17M campaign for new pastoral centre, cathedral renovations

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jun 30, 2021 12:19 PM CT

A $17-million fundraising campaign has been underway for two years to renovate this Regina cathedral and build an adjacent ministry centre. Critics say it's immoral to raise money for buildings after the Catholic Church's financial commitment to residential school survivors went unmet. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)

WARNING: This story contains distressing details

CBC News has learned of a $17-million fundraising campaign currently underway for cathedral renovations and new construction in the Archdiocese of Regina. That's in addition to a $16-million shrine/church that opened last year in Canmore, Alta., the $28.5-million cathedral built in Saskatoon less than a decade ago and other capital projects across the country.

The church, which ran many of Canada's residential schools, has been under increasing pressure for restitution and transparency since what are believed to be the unmarked burial sites of children's remains were recently found at or near former school sites in Kamloops, B.C., and at Cowessess First Nation, east of Regina. A similar discovery was revealed in B.C.'s South Interior on Wednesday.

"I think it's very disappointing. The Catholic Church has a lot of work to do to make amends," said Mayo Moran, provost and vice-chancellor of Trinity College at the University of Toronto.

"The least it could do is meet its commitments."

Former University of Toronto dean of law, Mayo Moran, is one of many saying the church needs to honour its original $25-million commitment to residential school survivors. (Nicole Ireland/CBC)

The church agreed to pay $25 million for school survivors in a historic settlement in 2005. The deal obligated the church to make "best efforts," and launch a fundraising campaign similar to that of a university or hospital.

After seven years, less than $4 million had been raised nationally. The church's lawyers argued in a secret court hearing it had made those best efforts and a judge agreed, absolving the church of further fundraising. The results of the hearing were published months later.

The incomplete payment is "an absolute embarrassment." said Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), which represents Saskatchewan's First Nations.

"All efforts should be going to helping survivors and their families, not to buildings."

Moran, who spent 15 years chairing the compensation committee for residential school survivors, says spending millions on cathedrals and churches "casts doubt" on the church's claim it gave its best efforts to help survivors.

She said Pope Francis has been progressive on climate change and other issues, but that he and Vatican officials have not done nearly enough on abuse and residential school issues.

Saskatoon Catholics raised $28.5 million to build this cathedral in 2012. (Jason Warick/CBC)

"You can see a pattern of avoiding financial responsibility and extreme litigiousness. It doesn't reflect well on the church," said Moran.

In the Archdiocese of Regina, staff, volunteers and contractors have been working for two years on the $17-million campaign to renovate Holy Rosary Cathedral and construct a ministry centre.

"We have now received a total of $6.58M in gifts and pledges and are expecting that number to grow as donors are inspired to support the campaign … Together we can make it happen!" reads a letter from the campaign chairs on the Archdiocese website.

The website also contains detailed instructions for individual church parishes wanting to build or renovate. It recommends church members "identify a need for several donors to make donations in excess of $10,000 for your campaign to be successful."

The website states the four keys to success are "prayer, involvement of pastor, choice of people [and] public relations/communications."

The Archdiocese has hired the same professional fundraising firm that helped Saskatoon Catholics raise $28.5 million for a new cathedral.

The doors of St. Paul's Co-Cathedral were painted in protest after the discovery of 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Residential School on the Cowessess First Nation on Thursday. (Donna Heimbecker/Facebook)

Archbishop Don Bolen was not available for an interview Wednesday morning, but an official confirmed details of the campaign. Last week, following the discovery at Cowessess First Nation, Bolen said he hopes to revive the fundraising for survivors. No details have been announced and no money has been committed at last word.

In Saskatoon, Bishop Mark Hagemoen has declined several interview requests, but in a statement issued Wednesday morning said he would "very much support" more fundraising for survivors.

Both reiterated their apology to survivors for the Catholic Church's central role in running many of the schools for more than a century.

Moran and others say these vague statements are meaningless. They say Catholics in every parish across Canada need to take action.

"Catholics need to push their church to do the right thing. All the pressure needs to be brought to bear. There are forces within the church that could be mobilized. There needs to be a lot of voices pushing," Moran said.

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

Renewed calls for Pope to visit Sask. to apologize for residential schools after 2017 effort failed

Cameron and others said that if Canadian churches and members refuse to help, the Vatican should pay. They point to the Vatican Bank's partial records release, which showed $6 billion US in assets, land holdings that cover a total area larger than the province of Saskatchewan, and the Vatican's collection of renaissance paintings, sculptures and other art.

All other church denominations that were part of the settlement — Anglican, United, Presbyterian — paid their full shares years ago.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/catholics-sunday-mass-boycott-saskatchewan-1.6088507

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Saskatchewan

First Nations leaders demand church pay full $25M promised to residential school survivors

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jul 02, 2021 3:59 PM CT

The front doors of St. Paul's Co-cathedral in downtown Saskatoon are again marked with red handprints on Friday morning following the recent discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at residential school sites in Kamloops, B.C., Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan and elsewhere. (Jason Warick/CBC)

WARNING: This story contains distressing details

Percy Miller stopped during his walk in downtown Saskatoon on Friday morning to look at the signs, children's shoes and red handprints on the doors of St. Paul's Co-cathedral, a Roman Catholic church.

Miller, a member of Shoal Lake Cree Nation, said he's saddened by the recent discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at residential school sites in Kamloops, B.C., Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.

He said the Catholic Church needs to do the right thing and pay the full $25 million promised to residential school survivors in 2005 as part of a settlement. So far, just $4 million has been raised by the church across the country. Church lawyers argued in 2016 that their deal only obligated them to give "best efforts," so a judge ruled they could stop raising money.

When asked about the growing calls for Catholics to boycott mass this Sunday, Miller shrugged his shoulders and said he's not optimistic.

"It'd be good, just show they support Indigenous people," said Miller, who has several family members forced to attend residential schools. "It's up to them. But you know, it is what it is."

Parishioners can be the 'greatest champions'

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief Felix Thomas and others are calling on Catholics to stay home this Sunday, and every Sunday, until the money is paid to help survivors.

They also want the church to release all residential school documents and Pope Francis to come to Canada and apologize for the church's role in operating the schools, as stated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.

"They can still pray at home in silence. That would send a strong message," Cameron said.

Saskatoon police vehicles are parked outside St. Paul's Co-cathedral on Friday morning. Officers said it was part of their regular patrol and not related to recent suspicious fires at churches in parts of Western Canada and Nova Scotia. (Jason Warick/CBC)

Thomas said survivors need everyone to fight for them.

"We need more champions. The greatest champions on this can be the congregation. This is something they can do, show that solidarity and not show up for church on Sunday," Thomas said last month.

Other Indigenous leaders agree.

Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis said the boycott message "would get up to the bishops, the archbishops and then up, up, up through the layers."

Critics blast Catholic Church for spending after commitment to residential school survivors went unmet

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

Louis said it's upsetting that church officials are claiming they don't have money for survivors while they build and renovate churches across Canada.

"Is that what Jesus would do?" he said.

Louis said his fellow chiefs of the region feel the same way. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs issued a statement this week that included calls for the church to pay the remaining $21 million to survivors.

Louis said he also plans to introduce a motion removing the annual $17,000 subsidy his First Nation gives to the local Catholic diocese for church maintenance and repair costs.

Unclear if bishops intend to raise more money

Andre Bear, a University of Saskatchewan First Nations law student who spoke at orange shirt events supporting survivors in downtown Saskatoon on Thursday, said the primary focus needs to remain on the federal government.

But Bear said Catholics can make a big difference.

"I know it must be hard for them, hard to acknowledge their church participated in genocide," he said.

"If they want to stand with us, make this right, that would be welcome."

Saskatoon Catholics raised $28.5 million to build Cathedral of the Holy Family, a second cathedral, in 2012, while critics say a promise to compensate residential school survivors was largely ignored. The story was similar across Canada. (Jason Warick/CBC)

In a statement emailed to CBC News on Friday afternoon, an official with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said it's unclear whether bishops intend to resurrect efforts to raise the remaining $21 million.

"The bishops of Canada have been working very intently with Indigenous peoples and communities on many levels. There is a genuine willingness to look at options and priorities together so that any action taken, any commitment made in this collaborative journey truly corresponds to the needs and desires of Indigenous peoples with whom they work," the statement read.

Renewed calls for Pope to visit Sask. to apologize for residential schools after 2017 effort failed

In downtown Saskatoon on Friday, in a park just 100 metres from the co-cathedral, Nancy Greyeyes and her friends took down the teepee and other tents set up for the July 1 event.

"It's a monolithic thing," she said of the Catholic Church. "But they can start to change it from inside. Don't just say sorry. Do something to make it right."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

https://www.humboldtjournal.ca/news/fsin-chief-bobby-cameron-pained-by-pope-francis-response-1.24332483

FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron “pained” by Pope Francis’ response

SASKATCHEWAN — Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indian Nations (FSIN) said they are all pained and saddened by Pope Francis’ “lack of effort to apologize” for residential school sites.

“We would request that he come to each of our regions, he doesn’t have to come to every single residential school, but he would come to each region and pick one residential school and make that apology,” Cameron said.

“Help our survivors and descendants continue that healing journey, because that’s what that apology means. It’s a part of that healing journey.”

The FSIN represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan.

The continued request for an apology came at a joint press conference on June 18 between the FSIN and the Government of Saskatchewan. The province announced it is providing $2 million to the FSIN to conduct research into undocumented deaths and burials at residential schools in Saskatchewan.

FSIN estimates set the cost of the entire search to be about $5 million, which would cover the ground penetration project, holistic healing protocols and ceremonies, as well as survivors input, meetings and dialogues.

Don McMorris, minister responsible for First Nations, Métis and northern affairs said they expect the federal government to pay for the other 60 per cent of the cost, calling it a “federal government responsibility.”

“The federal government has a large portion to play in this, but we felt that we needed to initiate this, because it’s top of the line for so many right now,” McMorris said. “We want to make sure that we’re there as a provincial government, so we put the money forward expecting the federal government will follow suite with that.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission documented 20 federally funded residential schools 1880s to 1990s operated in the province. Sites in Timber Bay and Île-à-la-Crosse were provincially funded, and due to it were denied settlement funds that the other sites survivors received.

The FSIN have identified Muskowekwan, Onion Lake St. Anthony's, Beauval, Guy Hill, Lebret, and Sturgeon Landing as sites to focus on, but McMorris said that they anticipate that the list may grow in the weeks ahead.

“Part of this collective grief we feel as a society is that there are so many questions that remain unanswered and so many records and details that have been lost about these children who attended the schools,” McMorris said.

“To this day it remains unclear just how many children may have been laid to rest away from their families and loved ones without cultural ceremonies at residential school sites across the country.”

Cameron said a large portion of the funding will go to survivors input and hearing their stories to find out where to start searching.

“They have lived it, they have breathed it, they have witnessed it, they experienced it. It’s so fresh on their minds, that’s why it’s so crucial and critical they’re fully involved every step of the way,” he said.

“Their input, their guidance is going to drive this whole process. We cannot be more clear or we will not deviant from their direction and advice. It’s going to be a long process, a healing process and we’re going to see this to the end.”

Bobby Cameron | Assembly of First Nations

https://www.afn.ca › our-team › bob...

Oct. 7, 2017 — Fax: 306-955-3913. Executive Assistant: Jaye Cameron Telephone: 306-956-6947. E-mail: jaye.cameron@fsin.com. Bobby Cameron ...

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2021/june/18/saskatchewan-provides-$2-million-for-residential-school-site-research

Saskatchewan Provides $2 Million For Residential School Site Research

Released on June 18, 2021

Today, First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs Minister Don McMorris announced that $2 million of provincial funding will be provided to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) to support research into undocumented deaths and burials on formerly federally operated residential school locations in the province. The minister also called on the federal government to match this investment.

"In the wake of last month's discovery at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, it is clear that research and exploration into undocumented deaths and burials must be carried out in Saskatchewan," McMorris said. "The $2 million announced today by the province of Saskatchewan will help ensure this work can begin, and help bring peace to those who suffered under the residential school system, and peace of mind to those who continue to suffer from its effects. I strongly call upon the federal government to immediately match these funds and help carry out this vitally important work in the province of Saskatchewan."

The FSIN has already identified the former residential schools of Muskowekwan, Onion Lake St. Anthony's, Beauval, Guy Hill, Lebret and Sturgeon Landing as possible sites for research. However, it is believed that the list of locations First Nations would like to investigate could increase. The funding announced today will be used to support the research into these, and future sites.

Currently, the FSIN is putting together their approach to support First Nations and help carry out this research, as many Indigenous communities across the province have already announced their intention to carry out investigations into former school sites in their communities.

"The Province of Saskatchewan has committed $2 million to begin the work and research necessary to bring these little lost souls some peace," FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said. "It's a good start but much more will need to be done as Saskatchewan had one of the highest numbers of residential schools in the country. This work will take years to complete and proper ceremony and protocol must be followed at every site. Elders, knowledge keepers, survivors, their decsendents, and First Nations communities must be a part of this process every step of the way. This work is vital for many of these survivors who have been sharing their stories for years. We must come together to help them heal."

In May, the Government of Saskatchewan joined with the FSIN demanding the federal government take immediate action on this issue.

The residential school system operated in Canada for more than a century. The federal government reports that 150,000 Indigenous children were removed and separated from their families and communities to attend these schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimates that approximately 20 federal residential schools operated in Saskatchewan from the 1880s to the 1990s.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Jay Teneycke Executive Director

Ministry of Government Relations

Regina

jay.teneycke@gov.sk.ca
Phone: 306-798-6095

https://www.fsin.ca/

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations contact and address.

100-103A Packham Ave, Saskatoon, SK S7N 4K4

306.665.1215

info@fsin.com

Bobby Cameron

Executive Assistant: Jaye Cameron Telephone: 306-956-6947. E-mail: jaye.cameron@fsin.com.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/bishops-fundraising-campaign-residential-school-survivors-1.6089675

Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors

First Nations leaders want details, action on 2005 fundraising pledge of $25M before calling off boycott

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jul 04, 2021 11:55 AM CT

Saskatchewan Roman Catholic bishops announced plans to revive fundraising efforts for residential school survivors. It's unclear whether they'll pause the $17-million fundraising campaign for renovations to Regina's Holy Rosary Cathedral (above) while the survivor funds are raised, as some have demanded. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan are restarting fundraising efforts for residential school survivors and their families.

The announcement follows calls for a church boycott until action is taken to fulfil the $25-million fundraising pledge made by church bodies in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

It also follows a CBC News investigation this week into the political and legal events that resulted in less than $4 million being raised.

The letter states consultations have begun within the dioceses and they "look forward to responding with more details in the near future."

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Saskatchewan

Critics blast Catholic Church for spending after commitment to residential school survivors went unmet

Officials from the Regina diocese, Saskatoon diocese or the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops couldn't be immediately reached for comment Sunday. It's unclear when the campaign will begin, what the goal amount will be or whether bishops in other provinces will follow.

Saskatchewan bishops are promising to restart fundraising efforts for residential school survivors. The announcement comes amid calls to boycott church services until the 2005 fundraising pledge of $25 million is fulfilled. The front doors of St. Paul's co-cathedral in downtown Saskatoon were again marked with red hand prints Friday morning. (Jason Warick/CBC)

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief Felix Thomas, Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis and others had recently called for Catholics to boycott Sunday mass until the remaining $21 million was paid.

On Sunday, Thomas and Cameron said they're encouraged by the development, but will wait to see dates, financial targets and other details before they decide to continue or revoke the boycott calls.

"We have some good faith, but we had that previously and it didn't materialize," Thomas said.

Cameron said the Church must "follow through with their vows to raise $25 million as once committed for these survivors and their descendants."

They are also calling on the Catholic church to immediately release all records related to residential schools, and for Pope Francis to come to Canada to issue an apology, as outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.

New effort 'must be highly transparent'

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, director of the University of British Columbia's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre reviewed the bishops' statement.

"This is interesting news coming from the Bishops in Saskatchewan. I commend them for their announcement," said Turpel-Lafond, a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, located approximately 100 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

She said she's eager to see details.

"In the past, such announcements were not followed through, even though they were ordered by the Court, and Canadians and First Nations were left completely in the dark. To be credible, this new effort must be highly transparent and monitored by someone outside the church," she said.

WATCH | Director of UBC's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre addresses Catholic Church compensation deal:

'Canada let them off the hook': Director of UBC's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre says of Catholic Church compensation deal

11 days ago

4:50

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a former Saskatchewan provincial court judge and current director of the University of British Columbia's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, says a good gesture of reconciliation would be for the Catholic Church to fulfil its promise to raise $25 million to compensate tens of thousands of residential school survivors. 4:50

Turpel-Lafond and others have said that remaining $21 million is a "starting point" to repairing the church's relationship with survivors. They say concrete action by the Catholic church is especially urgent following the discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at former residential school sites in Kamloops, B.C., the Cowessess First Nation in southern Saskatchewan and elsewhere.

They'd like to see fundraising campaigns for church buildings put on hold until the money for survivors is paid. They also favour diverting to the survivors' fund some of the tens of millions being raised for Regina's Holy Rosary Cathedral, Toronto's St. Michael's Basilica and other current building projects.

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

Vatican indicts 10, including cardinal, over $512M London real estate deal

Survivors and others have said that if Canadian Catholic churches won't pay, the Vatican should. They pointed to the Vatican Bank's estimated $6 billion in assets, and the church's global land holdings.

That includes speculative real estate investments of more than $500 million in one London office building alone, according to charges against 10 officials announced this weekend by Vatican prosecutors.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by these reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and others affected.

People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/july-07-2021-episode-transcript-1.6094814

As It Happens

July 07, 2021 Episode Transcript

DUNCAN MCCUE: Hello, I'm Duncan McCue, sitting in for Carol Off.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is “As It Happens”.

CH: Tonight:

CH: Flame War. After a statue of Captain James Cook is toppled in Victoria, a nearby totem pole is set on fire -- sparking concern that there will be more damage and retaliation to come.

DMC: Hard to believe. A Toronto priest says it's disingenuous and unacceptable for the Catholic Church to say it can't raise compensation for residential school survivors, while spending millions on new buildings.

Catholic Church Response

Guest: Father Darren Dias

CH: The Catholic Church says it tried to raise 25 million dollars to compensate residential school survivors. It also says it couldn't meet that goal. But CBC Saskatoon reports that, since the Church made that pledge in 2005, it has spent nearly 300 million dollars on new church buildings across the country. We told you about one of those buildings last week -- a Saskatoon cathedral that cost 28 million dollars. Frank Badger talked to us about it -- he's a residential school survivor who lives close to the new building.

SOUNDCLIP

FRANK BADGER: It's so ridiculous, you know? Catholic religion is the biggest business, one of the biggest businesses in the world. It's worth about six billion dollars. And they have land... all of these that are bigger than Saskatchewan. Now, why in the world can't they come up with 25 million dollars? You know, that's so frustrating. And not only did they cause a lot of damage to the Native people, but now they're refusing to help these people like myself to get back on track.

CH: That was Frank Badger on "As It Happens". Father Darren Dias is a theology professor at the University of Toronto, and a Dominican priest. The Dominicans are a Catholic religious order. And, unlike some Catholic orders, they did not operate residential schools.

DMC: Father Dias, how does it feel to hear what Frank Badger had to say in that clip?

DARREN DIAS: It's a powerful witness, Frank's statements there. I think he's right that it is ridiculous that the situation is what it is even today. And I detect a righteous anger for what was done to him and to many others. And that there is indeed a lack of action. There's maybe a lack of words in terms of apologies, but there's certainly a lack of action on the part of those who should be taking responsibility.

DMC: Since 2005, the Catholic Church has raised four million dollars for residential school survivors. Thanks to some work by... adjacent work by CBC Saskatchewan, we've learned that in the same time span, they spent nearly 300 million dollars on new buildings and repairs. How do you square those two

figures?

DD: Yeah, it's quite jarring, isn't it? I should say that the 25 million dollars that the Catholic Church agreed to pay is actually 48 Catholic entities, so dioceses and religious communities. So it's not necessarily all the dioceses or entities across the country. And in 2015, they were released from the obligation because apparently best efforts had been made to raise those funds. Now, when you see the numbers of the amount of money that's been raised for other things like buildings, you wonder if, really, those best efforts were really made. If money can be raised for things like buildings, certainly money can be raised for people. And I think here people were ignored -- certainly those who suffered. And the responsibility to which these 48 entities agreed to take for their actions was lost.

DMC: How could they have fallen so short of their goal by only coming up with four million?

DD: The first question is, were best efforts really made? Secondly, if there is will enough to raise money for other things, I think there's probably not enough will to raise money for this. That is, to meet the responsibility, the agreed-upon amount of 25 million dollars. Some of the bishops realize that now. So in Saskatchewan, the bishops are going to restart the fundraising effort to meet this obligation. But clearly, they failed. I think that though the whole Church of Canada could, if there's enough will, have a fundraising effort -- that is from sea to sea. So even those dioceses that might not be named in the... as the Roman Catholic entities, they could collaborate and have a joint fundraising effort to raise this money. Because, as you said, money has been raised in dioceses throughout the... throughout Canada for other things. And here, there might not be a legal responsibility for some of the dioceses, but certainly, I think there's a moral responsibility.

DMC: Let me ask you that. I mean, the Dominicans, which are the Catholic religious order you're part of, never ran residential schools. But... but what responsibility do you feel as a Catholic leader to do right by residential school survivors?

DD: Yeah, I think that all Canadians and all Catholics have a responsibility to do right by residential school survivors. So it's not just the bishop's responsibility. It's also every Catholics responsibility, just like it's not just the Church's responsibility. It's also the government's responsibility. So even though I belong to an order that did not have residential schools, I don't think that means that as a Catholic community, we're not responsible for the mistakes that we have made collectively.

DMC: It's been over 15 years since that initial commitment by the Catholic Church in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement. Why are Church leaders only now starting to... to think about that responsibility?

DD: Probably the numbers that we are seeing in these graves that have been uncovered. And I say uncovered because they're not discovered. They are in the TRC's calls to action, 71 to 76. It's clear that there were these cemeteries and unmarked graves. And the calls to action asked the federal government, with the cooperation of the Church, to v investigate this. And this was, as you said, completely ignored. So I think now that they're being uncovered, and the numbers of unmarked graves, I think the numbers are so jarring that people are asking questions, and I hope they continue to ask questions. I hope when the next election comes, this should be a major issue or the single issue of the next election. I also think that the Church has lost a great deal of credibility in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal. And now this. I think the bishops can see that there is a great deal of anger, you know, in the burning of churches, which, you know, a violent act that I won't support. But... but it really shows the anger. So I think that for the Catholic Church in Canada, it's a moment to really think about whether there is any credibility left?

DMC: Last month, Ottawa's archbishop told a CBC interviewer, the Catholic Church is, quote, hurting over the news of unmarked graves. And claimed not to have known very much about residential schools until recently. So what does that kind of comment tell you about the work that the Catholic Church itself needs to do in terms of reconciliation?

DD: It's got a lot of work, especially because a good number of Indigenous people are Catholics. And I think the place to start is by listening to Indigenous communities and to Indigenous Catholics. Again, these are in the calls to action. These should be programs that have already... that are already flourishing in the country. We don't have many of them except in those places maybe where there's been an intentional effort with the Church leaders or local leadership and Indigenous communities to educate people.

DMC: In terms of the commitment to raise more money. What about a time frame? What about a target amount? Has that been set? What are your thoughts?

DD: Yep. So, for me, I don't know. But certainly, that... the 25 million that was agreed upon should be honoured, even though they were released from the obligation in 2015. There is no reason not to honour that agreement because it is an agreement. So, the starting point, I think, is to go back to the

TRC, to its calls to actions and recommendations and honour those agreements.

DMC: If you could sit down with the bishops conference, what would your message be?

DD: To read and appropriate the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action. And to act responsibly and with integrity in what they... what they are requesting.

DMC: Father Dias, thank you very much for your time.

DD: Thank you,

CH: Father Darren Dias is a Dominican priest and professor of theology at the University of Toronto.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/catholic-buildings-fundraising-residential-school-survivors-1.6090650

Catholic Church dedicated nearly $300M for buildings since promising residential school survivors $25M in 2005

CBC compiled Catholic projects announced since promising 'best efforts' to survivors, paying them under $4M

Jason Warick · CBC News · Posted: Jul 06, 2021 5:00 AM CT

St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in Toronto celebrated completion of its $128-million renovation in September 2016, one year after Canadian church groups told a judge that $3.9 million was all they could fundraise nationally for residential school survivors. (St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica/Facebook)

WARNING: This story contains distressing details

Catholic officials said in 2015 they could only fundraise a total of $3.9 million for residential school survivors, but efforts for Catholic cathedrals and other buildings across Canada reached nearly $300 million since November 2005, according to data gathered by CBC News.

The actual number may be higher. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops declined a CBC News request this week to ask its member bishops for the information. The figure of $292 million resulted from searches of individual dioceses' websites and other public sources.

These include a $128-million renovation of St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in Toronto. The 2016 gala opening — complete with a brass band — was held one year after Canadian church groups went to court to say there was no more fundraising money for survivors.

Critics say these figures throw into question the church's legal claim it gave "best efforts" to help survivors.

Since signing the landmark Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement in 2005, Canadian Catholic dioceses have either spent or are fundraising $292 million for cathedrals and other church buildings, according to a search of public sources by CBC News. Critics say the financial commitment to residential school survivors was largely forgotten. (CBC Graphics)

'Keep your promise'

"They didn't keep their promise. You can't just say, 'Oh we tried. That's too bad,' " Star Blanket Cree Nation Chief Michael Starr said.

"There is a lot of hate, a lot of anger out there. The church has to work with us. It has to be tangible. Keep your promise."

Following the discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves in Kamloops, B.C., the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan and elsewhere in Canada, Starr, survivors and others wanted the church to revive its efforts.

Starr applauded Saskatchewan bishops for agreeing recently to do exactly that. But he said survivors haven't seen anything concrete yet. Starr also called on every bishop in Canada to join the effort.

"You know, survivors being put at the back of that priority list, you know, I don't think that's right. They should move into the first priority and make sure we are funded according to what their promise was," Starr said.

First Nations leaders such as Chief Michael Starr of Star Blanket Cree Nation say helping residential school survivors needs to be the Catholic church's top priority. (CBC/ Tyler Pidlubny )

Toronto diocese 'open' to fundraising again

An official with the Archdiocese of Toronto said Monday they are "open" to fundraising again for survivors, but no decision has been made.

In a written statement, the diocese said "to be clear that is not saying no. It is saying that we need to carefully discern how to best approach such an effort."

Turning 'anger into something good,' this Mi'kmaw boy is walking 200 km for residential school survivors

Sask. Catholic bishops resurrect fundraising campaign for residential school survivors

Starr, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron and others say they've had 15 years to do what's right — since the 2005 Indian Residential School Settlement — so they aren't sure why officials are only starting to think about it again now.

They said all current Catholic fundraising for buildings must be paused while money is raised for survivors. That includes the Regina diocese's $17-million campaign to renovate its Holy Rosary Cathedral.

Saskatoon and Regina diocese officials declined to give a timeframe or a target dollar amount for survivor fundraising efforts in the province, but a Regina diocese official said more details will be available soon, including the fate of other current fundraising campaigns.

In the landmark 2005 Indian Residential School Settlement agreement, one of the Catholic church's promises was to give "best efforts" at fundraising $25 million for survivors. After a decade, more than $21 million remained unpaid.

The church went to court and pointed to the "best efforts" clause, saying they'd tried their best. On July 16, 2015, the judge agreed and absolved the church of its legal obligation.

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Saskatchewan

https://www.tst.edu/directory/faculty/dias-darren

Darren Dias

PhD (St. Michael's)

darren.dias@utoronto.ca | 416-926-1300 ext 3395

Bio

Dr. Darren Dias joined the Faculty of Theology in 2008. He completed his doctoral dissertation under the direction of Robert M. Doran on the contributions of Bernard Lonergan’s Trinitarian theology to understanding religious diversity. Dr. Dias has served as Interim Director of Basic Degree Programs and Field Education, Director of Institutional Accreditation and Director of Pastoral Formation. Dr. Dias is a member of the Canadian province of Dominican Friars and serves as the Director of the Dominican Institute of Toronto.

Theologian Karl Barth famously advised younger colleagues to base their work on both the Bible and the newspaper. Now, two new courses offered by the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College are doing just that, reflecting theologically on the evils of racism and clerical sexual abuse, topics that regularly make front-page news.

Theology of Radical Evil and Suffering will look at the experience and testimony of Jewish, African American and Indigenous individuals and communities who experienced extreme evil and suffering at the hands of those reclaiming what they understood to be their Christian faith, values and way of life.

(Sexual) Abuse and the Catholic Church, in turn, aims to explore how the present sexual abuse crisis informs—and proposes the need to reform—the understanding of the church as body of Christ.

“These are very challenging—and very necessary—courses,” says Interim Dean John L. McLaughlin. “We are educating people who will be helping to find the answers to society’s ills. They need to understand root causes and be able to recognize systemic challenges before they can begin to effect change.”

Image depicts Jean- Pierre Fortin — Dr. Jean-Pierre Fortin

Radical Evil and Suffering “will offer a different approach to evil, as often we look at both God and evil at once in abstract philosophical terms,” says Dr. Jean-Pierre Fortin, who will be teaching the course. “This course will have a more practical approach, based on self-narratives, determining agency and how we experience the impact of evil on our personal identities and lives. How as Christians do we listen to victims when Christianity is on the side of the perpetrator?”

Along with readings from theologian Dorothee Soelle and philosopher Simone Weil on the nature of suffering, the course also features the works of such writers as Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, who is a specialist in African American Catholic theology, Aboriginal writer Thomas King, and documents from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Dr. Fortin, who is the author of Grace in Auschwitz: A Holocaust Christology, says his years living in Chicago while teaching at Loyola University exposed him to the reality of the African-American experience, and allowed him to hear prophetic voices. As a Canadian, he felt the ongoing fallout from residential schools and the injustices revealed via the TRC highlighted the need to discuss injustices suffered by Canada’s Indigenous peoples and reflect constructively on a responsible Christian response.

(Sexual) Abuse in the Church, which is being co-taught by theology professors Drs. Darren Dias, OP, and Michael Attridge, is one of the first of its kind to be taught in Canada.

Dr. Michael Attridge and Dr. Darren Dias, OP

“The church has gotten better, in the sense that the present number of cases has decreased, but the crimes that have been committed are a permanent wound,” Dr. Dias says. “After (1989’s) Mt. Cashel scandal, people thought it couldn’t happen again. Then came the magnitude of Pennsylvania (where a grand jury report indicated the church had covered up abuses committed by more than 300 priests over a 70-year span) and we began to realize that this was happening around the world, in any number of cultures and linguistic groups, whether the United States or India.”

The course will be delivered in three sections: the first will be inductive, using data such as statistics and ethnography; the second will look at structural, systemic issues such as celibacy, clericalism and power; the final section of the course will be deductive, looking at what church is and what the people of God are called to be. The last section, notes Dr. Attridge, will look at Scripture, and theologically grounded teachings from Pope Francis and others. Each class will begin with the testimony of survivors.

“If we think of church as sacrament, with the moral responsibility to be the body of Christ, the presence of God in the world, ask yourself what it means when the Church, called to be an instrument of God’s love, behaves in this way,”says Dr. Attridge. “We are talking about Church in a responsible, methodological way.”

Dr. Dias agrees.

“This is a pervasive issue and Catholic universities have to address it, both because we have witnessed degrees of abdication within the church and because we are informing people who will be in ministry,” he says.

Theology of Radical Evil and Suffering (SMT5610HS) is offered Tuesdays from 14:00-16:00 in the fall semester.

(Sexual) Abuse and the Catholic Church (SMJ3/6505HF) is offered staggered Saturdays from 9:00-13:00 in the fall semester.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/residential-school-financial-settlements-quebec-catholic-church-1.6092215

As Catholic Church balked at paying residential school settlement, Quebec nuns sold nearly $25M in real estate

3 orders of nuns who once staffed residential schools got millions for properties as they downsized

Simon Nakonechny · CBC News · Posted: Jul 09, 2021 4:00 AM ET

The Grey Nuns worked at several residential schools in Western Canada, including the Holy Angels Indian Residential School in Fort Chipewyan, Alta. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation / Deschatelets-NDC Archives)

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

Three Quebec-based religious orders that staffed residential schools in the rest of Canada have earned millions of dollars from property sales in recent years, even as the Catholic Church said it couldn't raise enough money to pay its share of a settlement meant for survivors.

In a class-action settlement with Indigenous survivors of the schools reached in 2006, Catholic entities involved in residential schools pledged, among other things, to use their "best efforts" to raise an additional $25 million to help fund healing and reconciliation programs.

Nine years later, after raising less than $4 million, the church entities said they had done all they could and a court absolved them of having to pay the rest.

But with evidence emerging of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, Indigenous leaders are calling on the church to fulfil its original commitment.

"Acts of genocide occurred at the hands of Catholic Church clergy men and women," the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, said in a statement last weekend.

"Our children that never made it home are now speaking to us; they're crying 'they found us' and we will not stop until they receive the justice they have been waiting decades for."

Some key figures involved in the 2006 settlement have questioned whether the entities devoted sufficient energy to the fundraising effort, and have pointed out the church has significant financial resources at its disposal.

The Grey Nuns of Montreal made $18 million from the sale of their motherhouse in downtown Montreal two years before the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was signed. (Simon Nakonechny/CBC)

The real estate deals

In Quebec, three religious orders that staffed residential schools raised at least $25 million between 2011 and 2021 by selling off real estate holdings, according to an analysis by CBC News.

The Grey Nuns of Montreal sold a sprawling island property to the city of Chateauguay, on Montreal's South Shore, for $5 million in 2011.

The same year, they sold two properties in the city of Nicolet, Que., near Trois-Rivières, for $1.8 million.

'Where is their soul?': Inside the failed push to make Catholic Church pay for its residential school abuses

Catholic Church dedicated nearly $300M for buildings since promising residential school survivors $25M in 2005

The Grey Nuns worked at several residential schools in Western Canada, including the Holy Angels Indian Residential School in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., where at least 89 children died, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg.

The nuns were among several religious orders that signed the settlement agreement in 2006, which included the promise to help raise $25 million across the country.

The Sisters of Providence sold their motherhouse in Montreal's east end for $7.5 million in 2011 to a non-profit group that converted it into seniors housing. (Simon Nakonechny/CBC)

The order did not respond to a CBC email asking how much it raised as part of that effort, but said it did give $2.5 million to the initial $29 million payment the Catholic entities were required to contribute in the class-action settlement.

The Grey Nuns say the money raised from the sale of its properties are in its accounts.

Quebec nuns worked at Sask. residential school

The Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Hyacinthe, who also signed the settlement agreement, sold their mother house in Saint-Hyacinthe, about 60 kilometres from Montreal, for $4.2 million in 2014.

The religious order sold another property in the same city to a real estate company for $1.5 million earlier this year.

Nuns from the St. Hyacinthe, Que., order worked at the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, where preliminary findings have uncovered 751 unmarked graves at a cemetery near the institution, which is now on the territory of the Cowessess First Nation.

In a statement to CBC News, the Sisters of St. Joseph expressed "immense sadness" at the discovery of the graves.

"The Congregation hopes with all its heart that the truth emerges about these events so that paths open toward reconciliation based on reciprocal respect and trust, in the context of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada," Sister Pauline Vertefeuille said in the statement.

In 1890, the Sisters of Providence opened the St. Eugene's Mission School, in Cranbrook, B.C., where 182 unmarked graves were recently discovered by the Lower Kootenay Band. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation / Deschatelets-NDC Archives)

She did not respond to a follow-up question from CBC asking how much her order had raised as part of the 2006 settlement agreement, but did say the nuns had contributed an undisclosed amount to the subsequent fundraising campaign.

The Montreal-headquartered Sisters of Providence, founded in 1843 by Émilie Gamelin, also made millions from at least two recent real estate transactions: one in 2016 to the City of Montreal for $4.7 million, and another to a non-profit that manages seniors' and social housing for $7.5 million.

WATCH | 182 graves found near former residential school near Cranbrook, B.C.:

182 graves found near former residential school near Cranbrook, B.C.

9 days ago

2:00

Pressure for a papal apology for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools is growing with the discovery of other unmarked grave sites near the location of a former residential school — this time near Cranbrook B.C. It's unclear who was buried in the shallow graves, or how and when they died. 2:00

In 1890, the Sisters of Providence opened the St. Eugene's Mission School, in Cranbrook, B.C., where 182 unmarked graves were recently discovered by the Lower Kootenay Band.

Following the nuns' withdrawal in 1929, an Indian Agent reported that "conditions were such that it was doubtful if it could be kept running," and that "practically all pupils were tubercular."

The Edmonton branch of the Sisters of Providence signed the 2006 settlement agreement. A spokesperson for the order in Montreal did not respond to questions about how much money had been raised in the context of the $25-million pledge.

'Keep your promise'

A growing number of Catholic orders in Quebec have been seeking to divest themselves of their property over the past 20 years.

As their numbers dwindle, and their members age, it is no longer financially feasible for them to manage the large buildings they constructed when the church dominated social life in the province.

182 unmarked graves discovered near residential school in B.C.'s Interior, First Nation says

In selling the buildings, many religious orders negotiate terms that are aimed at providing for their remaining members.

"One theme which regularly comes up is the need to provide dedicated long-term care facilities to aging congregation members," said Dinu Bumbaru, policy director for Heritage Montreal, an architectural conservation group.

"Another type of project we hear of … is to fund legacy projects, museums, publications or even sainthood procedures for their founders."

Religious orders also often seek to ensure their buildings are used for non-profit goals, and sometimes accept below-market prices toward that end.

A woman is consoled during a gathering to honour Indigenous children, denounce genocide and demand justice for residential school victims in Montreal on July 1. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

The Grey Nuns' former mother house in Montreal, for instance, now belongs to Concordia University. A building in the Montreal borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, once owned by the Sisters of Providence, is being transformed into a community centre.

For Indigenous leaders dealing with the legacy of the cultural genocide committed at residential schools, the church still has an unpaid debt that is both moral and financial.

In Saskatchewan, the failure of the church to meet the fundraising target set out in the 2006 settlement agreement is seen as a broken promise.

"You can't just say, 'Oh we tried. That's too bad,'" Michael Starr, chief of the Star Blanket Cree Nation in southern Saskatchewan, told CBC Saskatoon recently.

"There is a lot of hate, a lot of anger out there. The church has to work with us. It has to be tangible. Keep your promise."

How to get help

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and for those triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simon Nakonechny

Simon Nakonechny is a videojournalist at CBC News Montreal.

With files from Jonathan Montpetit and Jason Warick in Saskatoon

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/charlie-angus-letter-pope-apology-residential-schools-1.4793879

Pope Francis needs to 'walk the walk' with residential schools apology: MP

Pope's swift response to U.S. sex abuse findings contrasts with long wait for apology requested by TRC

Jorge Barrera · CBC News · Posted: Aug 21, 2018 6:55 PM ET

Pope Francis arrives to lead the general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on May 30. (Max Rossi/Reuters)

An NDP MP is calling on Pope Francis to respond to a request he visit Canada and apologize to residential school survivors with the same urgency he displayed following last week's release of findings detailing widespread, decades-long sexual abuse of children by priests in Pennsylvania.

Charlie Angus, MP for Timmins-James Bay, wrote to the Vatican's ambassador to Canada Tuesday saying the Roman Catholic Church's failure to adequately respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings "continues to damage" the relationship between the institution, believers and Indigenous Peoples.

"Given the clear position taken by Pope Francis in his recent letter to the faithful ... it is incumbent upon the Church to respond with equal clarity to the Parliament of Canada and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)," wrote Angus in his letter to Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, the Apostolic Nuncio to Canada.

Pennsylvania case

Pope Francis issued a letter Monday addressed to the Church's 1.2 billion followers pledging an end to cover-ups of sexual abuse. The letter was in response to findings released last week by a Pennsylvania grand jury that 301 priests in the state sexually abused minors over the past 70 years.

'We showed no care for the little ones': Pope's letter vows to end sex abuse, coverups

Pope Francis is visiting Ireland this week in hopes it will lead to "reconciliation" in a country where clerical sexual abuse has also damaged the Roman Catholic Church, the Irish Times reported. The Times said the Pope would be meeting victims of sexual abuse during his time in the country.

Pope Francis earlier this year also criticized the Chilean Roman Catholic Church's "culture of abuse and cover up" of sexual crimes which led to the resignation of the country's bishops.

NDP MP Charlie Angus wrote to the Vatican's ambassador to Canada on Tuesday. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

However, the Vatican's response has been more muted to the findings in Canada by the TRC of widespread sexual, physical and psychological abuse suffered by Indigenous children who attended residential schools in Canada. Catholic groups ran 72 per cent of the institutions.

"You've got to walk the walk here," said Angus, in an interview.

"Where is the urgency three years after the report of the TRC has been released?"

Conservative MP opposes motion calling on Pope to apologize for residential schools

Police files, historical documents show link between Catholic hierarchy and residential schools

No 'simple apology' yet for Indigenous children: TRC chair

Pope Benedict XVI issued an expression of regret in 2009 for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools during a Vatican meeting with First Nations leaders.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops suggested this year that Pope Francis would not be visiting Canada and offering an apology as requested by the TRC in its 94 calls to action.

In response, the House of Commons passed a motion calling on Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize to residential school survivors.

"Less than 1,000 non-Indigenous children in Pennsylvania apparently are entitled to the Pope's personal request for forgiveness, but when given the chance, he declines to issue even a simple apology to the many thousand more Indigenous victims in Canada," wrote Sen. Murray Sinclair, former chair of the TRC, in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Sinclair's office said the senator was not available for an interview and that the post is all he would say on the matter for now.

During a June 29 reception at the Vatican embassy in Ottawa, Bonazzi said Pope Francis "is not against a gesture of reconciliation," suggesting perhaps an apology could be forthcoming, according to a report in The Catholic Register.

Angus attended the reception and heard Bonazzi's words. He said the Catholic Church in Canada is trying to deal with the issue, but it's clear the urgency is not the same.

"Why are we still moving along at such a slow rate?" said Angus.

The Vatican's embassy in Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jorge Barrera

Reporter

Follow @jorgebarrera on Twitter

with files from the Associated Press

https://twitter.com/DavidRaymondAm1/with_replies

scribd.com/doc/2718120/In

Replying to @CharlieAngusNDP @DonDavies and @MumilaaqQaqqaq

YO @POTUS @DHSgov @FBI & @rcmpgrcpolice @CanadianPM Guess who just called John Manley and is now on the phone to Don Davies?

Former deputy PM calls on Ottawa to investigate U.S. cancellations of Canadian NEXUS cards | CBC...

The former deputy prime minister who negotiated the NEXUS trusted traveller program with the United States says the Canadian government should ask the U.S. to examine the way the program's rules...

https://www.cpac.ca/episode?id=15bd660e-63c1-4b4d-903d-b2ff1ff13a08

Charlie Angus NDP

@CharlieAngusNDP

I will be hosting a press conference this morning in Ottawa at 10AM with @MumilaaqQaqqaq. We are calling for an independent criminal investigation into the discovery of the bodies at residential schools.

Headline Politics

NDP MPs Call for Investigation into Crimes Against Indigenous People

At a news conference on Parliament Hill, NDP MPs Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and Charlie Angus call on Justice Minister David Lametti to appoint a special prosecutor to lead an independent investigation into priests who are accused of committing crimes against Indigenous people in former residential schools across the country. They denounce the protection given by the Catholic Church to some of these individuals, several of whom now reside abroad, and demand that the prosecutor be empowered to subpoena documents from religious institutions as part of the investigation. Qaqqaq and Angus also insist that the government release all documents it possesses on residential schools and that material uncovered by the investigation be made public to further the truth and reconciliation process. (July 8, 2021)

Darren Dias

@DarrenDias1

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops: Statement from Concerned Canadian Catholics on the Discoveries in Kamloops - Sign the Petition! chng.it/8FdX6k6F via

@CdnChange

Sign the Petition

Statement from Concerned Canadian Catholics on the Discoveries in Kamloops

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10:41 AM · Jun 8, 2021Twitter Web App

As Catholic Church balked at paying residential school settlement, Quebec nuns sold nearly $25M in...

Replying to @DarrenDias1 and @CdnChange

Hmmm I wonder if you have checked my work yet

Three orders of nuns who once staffed residential schools got millions for prime properties as they downsized their operations.