Peter Harrison - Speaking My Truth

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Peter Harrison is a professional geographer and holds a Bachelor of Arts (FirstClass Honours) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (UnitedKingdom), a Masters of Arts from the University of Victoria (British Columbia), and adoctorate from the University of Washington (Seattle, Washington).Peter has been the Skelton-Clark Fellow at Queen’s University since June 2008. Priorto this, he has held a number of deputy minister and senior government positions;most notably, he was Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Indian and Northern AffairsCanada, where he was responsible for the Northern Affairs Program and the InuitRelations Secretariat. Concurrently, Peter was the Executive Director and DeputyHead (Deputy Minister) of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, where hewas responsible for implementing the largest court-ordered out-of-court settlement(Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement) in Canadian history. He was alsoresponsible for the common experience payment, the creation of an independentadjudication process (to deal with specific cases of abuse), and the creation of theTruth and Reconciliation Commission. He also shepherded the development of theGovernment of Canada’s apology in the House of Commons to First Nations, Inuit,and Métis Survivors of residential schools.Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; a Fellow, Governor, and Vice-President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society; and Adjunct Professor at theWorld Maritime University (Malmö, Sweden). He is a recipient of Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Gold Medal for Public Service, and the J.B. Nichollsaward for his lifetime contribution to ocean and coastal management in Canada.
Dispelling Ignorance of Residential SchoolsIn the late summer of 2007, the conversation among a group of senior federalofficials turned to the question of immigration. The discussion was widerangingand covered both the challenges and the opportunities that Canada,as a country dependent on immigration, continues to face. At one point, acomparison was made between Canada’s experience and that of Europeancountries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other membersof the European Union. The question was raised as to why the integrationof immigrant populations into Canadian society has seemingly been moresuccessful than elsewhere. One hypothesis raised was that, unlike manyEuropean nations, Canada has never been a colonial power. The argumentwas that since Canada has never had overseas dependencies—such as theBelgians in the Congo, the French in Algeria, or the British in Hong Kong orIndia—entitlements to residence in the colonizing jurisdiction had not beencreated. Furthermore, it was also argued that some of the current tensions inEuropean societies may well be an ongoing result of previous colonial policiesand attitudes.As a participant in this conversation, I must admit to taking great exceptionto the statement that Canada has never been a colonial power, whatever thecomparison with experience elsewhere. While Canada has not extended itshegemony to other lands and continents, national objectives have historicallybeen heavy with domestic colonial policies and attitudes regarding FirstNations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. And, as I noted at the time, this is nowheremore evident than in the legacy of the residential school system and theimpact these schools have had on individuals, families, and communitiesand will have on future generations. Taking children away from their familiesand communities, often forcibly, and attempting to eradicate all vestigesof their language, culture, and spirituality in order to assimilate them intomainstream society can only be described as a colonial objective. Add to thisthe psychological, physical, and sexual abuse that many of these children weresubjected to in institutions that should have had the duty to protect them, andthe only conclusion to be reached is that Canada, despite its virtues, has beenas much a colonizer of its own people as other countries have been in theiroverseas dependencies.What this and other conversations have convinced me of is the enormouschallenge of educating the Canadian public about this dark chapter ofour history so that informed debate can take place and reconciliation canResponse, Responsibility, and Renewal | 137
Page 1: Peter HarrisonResponse, From Respon
Page 5 and 6: Toward ReconciliationThere are many
Page 7 and 8: children with an education is undou
Page 9 and 10: important) the indifferent—while
Page 11: “How would you feel if your child

Peter Harrison - Speaking My Truth

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