NDP’s Gazan urges Liberals to adopt her bill to ban residential school denialism

OTTAWA — Following the delivery of the final report of the Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites Associated with Indian Residential Schools, NDP MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) joined the Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray and survivors to call on the Government of Canada to recognize residential school denialism as inciting hate in the Criminal Code.

“Residential school denialism invites hate, full stop,” said Gazan. “It is simply a way to willfully spread hate narratives and it must be stopped.”

Gazan recently tabled a private member’s bill which would amend the criminal code to stop the willful promotion of hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian Residential School system. As part of her report, Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray included this measure as one of 42 legal obligations of the Government of Canada.

Echoing this call, NDP critic for Crown-Indigenous Affairs Lori Idlout (Nunavut) said the government's refusal to address the ongoing harms of residential schools keeps Indigenous peoples oppressed.

“Kimberly Murray, the Special Interlocutor, honours survivors and makes it clear that the government has tried to shield itself from blame and ignore its obligations to Indigenous peoples,” said Idlout. “The government must lift the burdens held by survivors and take action to end hate and denialism.”

Given Attorney General Virani’s acceptance of the report on Tuesday, Gazan is urging the Liberal government to adopt her bill as soon as possible.

“We cannot wait and allow hate to spread. We need to protect survivors now,” said Gazan.

“Survivors and communities have been the target of denialism and violence,” said Murray. “Any attempt to deny or minimize the genocide and crimes against humanity that have been perpetrated against Indigenous children and communities is an attack on the memory of those lost, incites hate, and a continuation of the genocidal process.”