Bill before Parliament would outlaw residential school 'denialism'

An NDP MP is pushing forward with legislation that would outlaw attempts to deny or downplay the harms caused by Canada's residential schools.

Leah Gazan, New Democrat MP for Winnipeg Centre, introduced a private member's bill in the House of Commons on Thursday to add residential school denialism to the Criminal Code.

"If the government is serious about reconciliation, then they need to protect survivors and their families from hate," Gazan said.

"The residential school system was a genocide designed to wipe out Indigenous cultures, languages, families and heritage. To downplay, deny or justify it is cruel, harmful and hateful."

Gazan told CBC News in February 2023 that she was drafting legislation to outlaw attempts to deny the history of residential schools or make false assertions about the institutions.

If passed, C-413 would make it a Criminal Code offence to willfully promote hatred against Indigenous people by condoning, denying, justifying or minimizing the facts about residential schools.

Justice Minister Arif Virani's office did not say whether the federal government supports the move.

"We thank MP Leah Gazan for raising an important issue through her private member's bill," said spokesperson Chantalle Aubertin.

"We look forward to reviewing the details of this bill as it is considered in Parliament."

Conservatives vow to 'closely examine' bill

The Conservatives have not yet taken a position on the bill either.

In a statement issued to CBC News, Conservative Crown-Indigenous relations critic Jamie Schmale called the residential school system a dark chapter in Canada's history. 

"Common sense Conservatives will continue to work to end the paternalistic 'Ottawa-knows-best' approach that led to these destructive policies in the first place," Schmale said.

"We are committed to supporting and empowering Indigenous Peoples to take back control of their lives. We will closely examine the bill that has just been tabled and participate in debate should it come to the floor of the House."

In 2008, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper delivered an official apology on behalf of the Canadian government that acknowledged the horrors of the institutions.

From roughly 1883 until 1997, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were forced to attend government-funded, church-run residential schools.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found many children at the schools were subjected to physical and sexual abuse. It described the conditions as "institutionalized child neglect."

The commission said the federal government created the institutions for the purpose of separating Indigenous children from their families and indoctrinating them into the dominant Euro-Christian Canadian culture. The goal, said the commission, was to weaken Indigenous family ties and cultural linkages.

Métis National Council president Cassidy Caron praised Gazan's bill.

During a visit to the Vatican in 2022, Caron asked the Roman Catholic Church to declare residential school denialism a violation of canon law, but did not receive any follow-up.

"The harm that it does to residential school survivors who are still with us today and their children and grandchildren, it is hate speech toward those people," Caron said.

"It's unfair. They, too, are Canadian citizens and they deserve to be protected by Canadian law."