Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
National

Kamloops discovery evidence of genocide: experts

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Jun, 2021 01:16 PM
  • Kamloops discovery evidence of genocide: experts

The discovery of 215 children's remains in an unmarked burial site in British Columbia has revived discussion about the residential school system, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded was cultural genocide against Indigenous Peoples.

Ryerson University law professor Pamela Palmater says the United Nations' convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide applies to Canada's actions.

She says the convention states that a genocide is committed when members of a group are killed, subjected to serious physical or mental harm, put in conditions to destroy them, become victims to measures intended to prevent births or have their children forcibly transferred to another group.

She says Canada only needs to be guilty of one of the five acts in the UN convention, with the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, to commit genocide under international law.

Guelph University Professor David MacDonald says the forcible transfer of children, which is part of the UN convention, occurred in the system of residential schools in Canada.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde says the residential school system constituted a genocide against Indigenous Peoples and the unmarked graves found in Kamloops are evidence.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its report in 2015 after years of study into the church-run, government-sponsored institutions, which operated in Canada for more than 120 years.

In 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls concluded in its 1,200-page report that Canada deliberately and systematically violated racial, gender, human and Indigenous rights, and that its actions amount to genocide.

Following the release of the report, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accepted the inquiry's finding that what happened amounts to genocide but said Canada must focus on actions to fix the situation, not on words.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

No decision yet on Canada-U.S. border: White House

No decision yet on Canada-U.S. border: White House
A media report Wednesday out of Point Roberts, Wash., a border community hit hard by the restrictions, cited anonymous sources with U.S. Customs and Border Protection as saying the closure would end by June 22. 

No decision yet on Canada-U.S. border: White House

NDP team up with Liberals on net-zero climate bill

NDP team up with Liberals on net-zero climate bill
Federal New Democrats are ensuring the survival of a key piece of Liberal legislation aimed at keeping Canada accountable to its target of achieving net-zero carbon-related emissions by mid-century.

NDP team up with Liberals on net-zero climate bill

UBC launches 13-week COVID test trials

UBC launches 13-week COVID test trials
The university says in a news release that the clinic uses the Roche SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test Kit and it will be studying the viability of self-administered tests.

UBC launches 13-week COVID test trials

Charge laid after stabbing at Vancouver court

Charge laid after stabbing at Vancouver court
Sgt Addison says the stabbing occurred before the court session began. He says the 53-year-old victim was seriously hurt and taken to hospital.

Charge laid after stabbing at Vancouver court

Surrey RCMP searching for rightful owners of sports cards and comic book collection

Surrey RCMP searching for rightful owners of sports cards and comic book collection
On March 21, 2019, Surrey RCMP executed a search warrant in relation to stolen property. A collection of sports cards and comic books were seized during the search.

Surrey RCMP searching for rightful owners of sports cards and comic book collection

Surrey RCMP arrest 2 men for liquor theft - Gurmukh Singh Thiara is facing 10 charges & Travis Emard West is facing 38 charges

Surrey RCMP arrest 2 men for liquor theft - Gurmukh Singh Thiara is facing 10 charges & Travis Emard West is facing 38 charges
54-year-old, Gurmukh Singh Thiara is facing 10 charges which include: Four counts of Possession of Property Obtained by a Crime Under $5000, four counts of Theft Under $5000, and two counts of Possession of a controlled substance.

Surrey RCMP arrest 2 men for liquor theft - Gurmukh Singh Thiara is facing 10 charges & Travis Emard West is facing 38 charges