John Rustad’s residential school claim is false and dangerous

John Rustad’s claim that over 4,000 children died in residential schools is false and dangerous, says Marco Navarro-Genie, vice president of research at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, in the piece on the other side of the paywall.

This misrepresentation, originating from the University of Manitoba’s National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, an organization primarily funded by the Canadian government, distorts the truth and undermines reconciliation efforts. Leaders like Rustad must be held accountable for spreading falsehoods and eroding public trust, Navarro-Genie rightly argues.

Despite its excellent prose and generally careful analysis, I take issue with his claim that "Canada’s history with Indigenous residential schools is deeply painful. Abuses, neglect and forced assimilation were real in many instances.”

These words mimic similar “yes, but” claims made by Jonathan Kay, Terry Glavin, among other writers who have carelessly thrown out such accusations without any details or comparative context, perhaps to present a so-called balanced view to prevent accusations of bias or even anti-indigenous racism.

Yes, many former IRS students have claimed they had bad experiences in their schools but such reports were made usually 40-60 years after the fact and were encouraged by the high financial rewards of the IRS Settlement Agreement, especially its independent Assessment Process which paid millions for unexamined and uncorroborated accusations of abuse.

They were also reinforced by peer pressure or mass psychosis during the later TRC hearings.

In addition, when referring to deep pain, neglect, and abuse, one must ask the elementary question: "Compared to what?" If this comparison includes life in other boarding schools, including those attended by the offspring of wealthy people in Canada and elsewhere, or life on the reserves during the same period — or even today — the deep pain, neglect, and abuse would likely pale to insignificance.

As for "forced assimilation,” since no children other than orphans or those seized from abusive or dysfunctional reserve homes ended up in an Indian Residential School against their parents’ wishes, “forced” is exaggeration, all the more so when such "forced assimilation” also characterizes the mandatory public education of millions of children whose parents migrated to Canada —including yours truly — from countries other than Great Britain and France.

Again, except for his attempt to provide a "balanced view” with these words, his analysis is a well-written and accurate summary of important IRS issues.