It's about time

'We are sorry'

"We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow," he said. "Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry."

When I was a little girl I lived close to the Kahnawake Reserve just outside Montreal. I had my tonsils removed at the reserve hospital by our native family doctor. The kids from the reserve went to my high school. My mum's best friend is a Mohawk as is my son's long-term girlfriend. I feel a deep sense of shame about the plight of Canada's Aboriginal people, the survivors of the residential school system and their descendants. Is this long overdue apology a first step toward healing the wounds? Will this symbolic action lead to real change? I sincerely hope so.
More about residential schools here.