Horror story : A scene from the new Canadian movie 'Indian Horse', which highlights harsh treatment of native American children by Canada's government.
Horror story : A scene from the new Canadian movie 'Indian Horse', which highlights harsh treatment of native American children by Canada's government.
LAST Saturday night I went to the movies here in Calgary to see a film reviewed in the newspaper the previous week.
The plot was that of a young boy hidden from the authorities in the late 1950s as the government scoured the Canadian countryside removing native children from their parents and placing them in "the care of the state" — institutions known as residential schools.
In spite of people's best efforts, this child is captured and incarcerated in such a school. He develops skill in ice hockey and is given the opportunity to leave, which he does, but prejudice and pressure weigh down heavily, and he loses it all to alcohol addiction.
The movie — Indian Horse, released this month — is incredibly moving and has won numerous awards.
It highlights a tragedy of government policy which will continue to have a negative and deadly effect for decades to come as 150,000 children were removed from their homes and placed in residential schools.
There were 6000 recorded deaths within those institutions, though the real number could be several thousand more as many aboriginal deaths in Canada have never been, and still are not, reported or investigated.
The Canadian Government has now completed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report which has made 94 recommendations.
One recommendation is the implementation of the Jordan Principle, which is that all people, regardless of who they are or where they live, get the services they need when they need them.
It is named after a child who was born with special health needs but after some months was allowed to leave hospital as long as services were provided.
His release was deferred as government departments argued over which one of them would pay for support — they argued for five years and Jordan died without ever leaving hospital or spending a night in his own home.
This principle seems so basic in a First World country that denial of services is abhorrent to us, yet we forget that within our own countries there may well be pockets of community — our citizens — who do not meet the definition of First World.
An example here in Canada is federal educational spending per child which, for schools on reservations, is vastly less than all other schools even though the need is far greater. The very aspirational government — some would say idealistic — cannot afford to meet the cost of equal funding across the board.
This equality of funding was another of the 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
A comparison with New Zealand is with our investigation into Children in State Care and the parameters in the terms of reference. There is a call for the inquiry to cover all kids in care, including religious institutions. The Government has said that children placed into church schools and homes at the request of the State will be included but otherwise not. In Canada, the Government has commissioned a one-year inquiry to hear the testimony of children previously in residential schools, but there were fish hooks.
Chester Borrows
Administrative concerns took up a lot of time and it is now obvious a three-year timeframe is required.
The Government is reluctant to extend, but hundreds or thousands may never be heard. Again the Canadian indigenous victims miss out.
This week we have seen the release of a report in New Zealand detailing huge gains in Youth Justice figures with the lowest numbers offending and appearing before the courts. The disparity remains, however, in that Maori and Pacific numbers are not reducing at the same rate as for pakeha kids.
They remain a very high majority of kids in care and in youth justice residencies (children's prisons).
We must strive as a country to confront our past inequities which result in today's injustices. The Jordan Principle has a very real place outside Canada and in New Zealand. If we are not all receiving First World government services, then not one of us is living in a truly First World country.
■Chester Borrows served as Whanganui MP for 12 years and as a minister in the National Government.
