Papal apology for residential school abuses draws strong reaction from Mi'kmaw leaders
CBC
Pope Francis's apology for abuses inflicted by some Catholics at residential schools has generated strong reactions from Mi'kmaw leaders in Nova Scotia.
"I really cried, I'll tell you that," said Stephen Augustine, a hereditary chief and vice-president of Indigenous Affairs at Cape Breton University. "I haven't cried in a long time. It had a big impact on me."
Last week, Augustine expressed doubt that Indigenous people would get an apology from Pope Francis. At the time, he figured the Vatican would hesitate to admit anything for legal reasons.
On Friday, Augustine said he was in awe when he heard the Pope talk about economic and ecological colonization and how Indigenous children had been severed from their roots to the land.
"It was a very powerful speech," Augustine said.
"I'm still kind of reeling from it. The hairs on the back of my neck are still standing up, because of all the things he said."
After meeting with delegations of Inuit, Métis and First Nations, the Pope said he felt "sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, and the abuses you suffered and the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values."
Augustine said he listened carefully to the apology and doesn't think the Pope was holding back.
"I think he's saving those that didn't do anything to the Indigenous children," Augustine said. "So he doesn't want to lump all Catholics and all priests in that category.
"He's really lashed out at the guilty ones, or the sinners. He referred to them as evil ... [and] I don't think he was sparing the culprits that did awful things to the children."
In the words he used, the Pope appears to have really listened to the delegates who were in Rome to tell their stories, Augustine said.
An apology from the church was one of the 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Pope has fulfilled that, he said
"I found a lot of hope in his message," Augustine said.
Jeff Ward, general manager of the Membertou Heritage Park, said he was shocked, surprised and pleased to hear the apology.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.
Registered nurses rallied in St. John's Wednesday as part of a week-long convention, again calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to create permanent solutions to staff shortages and workplace violence.
New poll results released by Narrative Research suggest the Progressive Conservatives are heading into Tuesday's provincial election with a commanding lead over their political rivals.
A measles outbreak in New Brunswick is set to push Canada's annual case count to the highest it's been in five years, highlighting how infectious the disease is and how low vaccination rates have allowed it to take hold, says an immunologist.