The Final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was delivered in December 2015, at a moving event in Ottawa. Prime Minister Trudeau and several premiers were there along with leaders of many Faith Communities and First Nations leaders.
The commission offers us 94 Calls to Action.
The full report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
These are not recommendations destined to sit on a library shelf and collect dust; they are Calls to Action. Trudeau declared with great emotion and sincerity that responding to these and to improving the relations between Canada and Indigenous Peoples of Canada was his government’s top priority.
STEP ONE: Read the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
CUSJ supports the Kairos Winds of Change Campaign.
In the words of Justice Murray Sinclair: “Education is what got us here and education is what will get us out”. Education is the cornerstone for change. TRC Call to Action #62
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Send an electronic letter to your MPP/MLA calling for implementation of Call to Action 62.1
- Read the report card to see how close each province and territory is to making this change to the curriculum.
- Host a workshop or event to bring you and your community into the Winds of Change campaign.
- Meet with provincial representatives and education authorities.
Together, we can change the education system and help transform Canadian society.
Indigenous People and Canadian Justice
We want to have reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and instead we are doing exactly the opposite. We want to make up for residential schools and instead we are putting more and more Indigenous people in jail, using a punishment mode while they are there that strips them of their mental health and their self-esteem. See this article in the Globe and Mail “Prisons are the Adult Version of Residential Schools” to get a feel for what is happening. Look for blogs on Marlene Carter on Albert Dumont’s (South Wind’s) website
It is time to put a stop to the over-incarceration and the mistreatment of Aboriginal people. We need an end to solitary confinement, or at least follow the UN Guidelines — never for youth or people with mental Illness (60% of the aboriginal population in jail lives with mental illness) and a maximum of 15 days for everyone else. If you want to help me, please call me. Rev. Frances Deverell webeditor@cusj.org.