The MPP for Kiiwetinoong is hoping the first Day for Truth and Reconciliation opens the conservation more on the history of residential schools.
Thousands of stories were shared locally and across the country Thursday.
Sol Mamakwa says Canada made it their policy to take First Nations peoples off their land and take the Indian out of the child.
“More than 139 of these so-called schools stole our children, stole their hearts, stole their spirits and in thousands of cases stole their lives. Thousands of our family members gone.
The NDP critic for Indigenous and Treaty Relations stresses residential schools aren’t ancient history, noting the last one closed in 1996.
Mamakwa says, “Instead of confronting Canada’s true history, Canada chose a policy of looking away, ignoring the truth. The truth of the genocidal policies of this country was not taught. The lies kept hidden.”
He adds, “Indigenous and non-Indigenous people yearn for the truth and the youth want to know what happened. It is no longer time to ignore the recent past to pretend it didn’t happen.”
Mamakwa says if you don’t acknowledge the stealing of Indigenous children so non-Indigenous children could have a better life, than you are part of the problem.
He goes on to say he doesn’t believe a majority of Ontarians want to be on the wrong side of history stressing they just want the truth.
