‘We’re sorry’: Alberta apologizes for legacy of residential schools

EDMONTON - The Alberta government apologized Monday for its past silence on the damage done by residential schools and added its voice to calls for a federal inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

Premier Rachel Notley delivered the historic apology in the provincial legislature as dozens of residential school survivors looked on from the public gallery.

“As our first step, we want the First Nation, MÉtis and Inuit people of Alberta to know that we deeply regret the profound harm and damage that occurred to generations of children forced to attend residential schools,” Notley said. “Although the province of Alberta did not establish this system, members of this chamber did not take a stand against it.

“For this silence, we apologize.”

Notley said her government has taken the lessons of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s executive summary, released earlier this month.

The commission issued 94 recommendations to atone for the “cultural genocide” committed against indigenous peoples in the residential school system.

Reconciliation can only be achieved through a fundamental shift in the relationship between government and First Nations, MÉtis and Inuit people, she said.

“This past is too painful to endure on your own. In the journey of reconciliation, you no longer have to walk alone.”

Notley noted the “devastating link” between the high number of missing and murdered aboriginal women and issues of poverty and domestic violence, adding her voice to national calls for an inquiry.

“Too many indigenous women are missing. Too many indigenous families have suffered. Too many communities don’t have the answers they need,” the premier said.

Alberta is the latest in a series of provinces to add its voice to the call for a national inquiry, joining the Assembly of First Nations, the United Nations and several city councils across the country. Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was reticent to back an inquiry, but his predecessor Alison Redford supported one.

The NDP have already committed to adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Notley said her government is developing a framework to address violence against aboriginal women and girls. Her government is also working with native communities to address early intervention to keep children safe and families united.

Treaty 6 Grand Chief Bernice Martial said she was awed when she received her invitation to watch the premier deliver her historic apology.

“It was overwhelming,” said Martial, chief of the Cold Lake First Nation.

She said the province can begin to change its relationship with “open and honest” meetings with chiefs and hoped Notley’s statement will help launch a national inquiry.

“That’s a stepping stone.”

An update last week from RCMP on the issue put the total number of missing and murdered indigenous women since 1980 at 1,224 — up from 1,181 a little more than a year ago. The data are based only on areas that fall under RCMP jurisdiction.

While indigenous women comprise 4.3 per cent of the nation’s population, the report revealed they account for 16 per cent of homicides against women and girls, and 11.3 per cent of missing women.