Education must continue to be the counter to denialism

Education remains the best way to ensure Canadians understand the legacy of residential schools, to preserve the memories of children who died, and to care for survivors.

Earlier this week, after the Second Sons white nationalist group held an ominous demonstration just outside the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc reserve near Kamloops, B.C., it became easier to understand the calls to criminalize residential school denialism.

A recurring theme at the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony on Parliament Hill, residential school denialism is becoming an alarming, disturbing phenomenon.

“We must … confront all forms of denialism that persist despite extensive historical records and an indisputable body of evidence, including first-hand survivor testimony,” Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour said during Wednesday’s event. “This leaves no room for doubt about the history and impact of the residential schools.”

Several speakers spoke to the harms caused by denialism, which is the belief that either children didn’t die at residential schools or that survivors’ experiences were not as bad as they have made it out to be.

In fact, over a century and a half, approximately 150,000 Indigenous people attended residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report notes 3,201 deaths in residential schools. Its former commissioner, Murray Sinclair, believes at least 6,000 children died as a result of their time in residential schools.

National media have reported on what appeared to be Second Sons members’ deliberately provocative acts in the days leading up to Sept. 30, the annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

On the social media platform X, Prime Minister Mark Carney called “the cowardly act” an “abhorrent” display and added it was a “stark reminder” of Canadians’ responsibility to confront the consequences of the residential school system that are felt today.

He paid tribute to the courage of survivors who have shared their stories so all Canadians can work toward reconciliation.

Nunavut survivors like Iqaluit’s Jack Anawak — once again a fixture at the city’s gathering at the cadet hall — and Cambridge Bay’s Jeannie Ehaoloak, who spoke in Ottawa, contribute to that truth-telling.

In June, Nunavut Sen. Nancy Karetak-Lindell tried unsuccessfully to criminalize residential school denialism.

She tried to amend the Liberal government’s Combatting Hate Act that would have made it a crime to “willfully promote hatred” against Indigenous Peoples by “condoning, denying or downplaying the Indian Residential Schools system.”

Karetak-Lindell’s amendment was supported by the Senate’s human rights committee but was defeated in the Senate.

A week later, this editorial space argued that education — not jail time — is the way to counter the denial of the harmful effects of residential schools.

As abhorrent as the Second Sons’ actions were, the most effective way to counter the misinformation that deniers spread is with the spread of accurate information.

The residential school system is a horrible, dark, painful chapter in Canada’s history. But it’s one Canadians need to come to terms with.