Canada Day opinion piece in Sask. paper causes controversy
An opinion article about Canada Day that ran in a local Saskatchewan newspaper has created controversy due to its claims about residential schools.
The piece titled “We have nothing to be ashamed of on Canada Day” offended some Indigenous people and allies in southern Saskatchewan.
Indigenous activist Summer Stonechild was shocked when she found the article after coming out of a Sundance ceremony.
“It was very disturbing to come out of a ceremony and understand that this publication was made available in Treaty Four,” she said.
The article, written by columnist Brian Giesbrecht, was published in the Fort Times, a local newspaper in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask.
“I was trying to wish everybody a Happy Canada Day, and I was also trying to assure people that Canada is not a genocidal country,” Giesbrecht said of the article.
The article criticized Kevin Annett, a former minister of the United Church of Canada, for “inventing” stories of priests murdering children and hiding the bodies, and those who believe what Giesbrecht calls “conspiracy theories.”
“I’m calling them conspiracy theories because that’s what they are,” Giesbrecht said.
Giesbrecht said he believes there are legitimate searches of burial sites for children from remote communities who died of diseases.
“There was simply no way of even notifying the parents that the child was sick,” he said.
Stonechild is calling on the Fort Times to retract the story.
Indigenous activist Summer Stonechild feels the opinion piece should be retracted. (Stacey Hein/CTVNews)
“People have a hard time believing our traumas because they were kept apart from the real stories,” Summer Stonechild said.
Grasslands News Group, the publishing company behind the Fort Times, said the opinions expressed in the column do not reflect those of the publication itself, in a statement to CTV News.
“It was an opinion of someone who we felt our readers are entitled to see,” Grasslands News Group said.
However, one local business was so upset with the article that they decided to stop dealing with the newspaper altogether.
“We decided to pull it, our customer base is mainly Indigenous peoples,” Jenna Cyr, the manager of Becky’s Place, a business in Fort Qu’Appelle, said, “We decided to not advertise with them as well.”
Grasslands News said it hoped the article would spark conversation around reconciliation.
While being interviewed, Stonechild held a feather and sweet grass to symbolize her support for reconciliation.
“I don’t discredit our non-Indigenous community for wanting to celebrate [Canada Day] but there needs to be a reflection on the truth behind what Canada is,” Stonechild said.
----
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll free line at 1-800-721-0066.
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.