Lawyer says residential school denialism should be added to Criminal Code

Warning: this story contains distressing details.

A high-profile Cree lawyer from Saskatchewan is calling for residential school denialismto be added to the Criminal Code alongside Holocaust denialism, in the wake of a recent interim report by Canada's special interlocutor on missing children and unmarked graves.

"It's the same," lawyer Eleanore Sunchildtold CBC News.

"If you deny that that happened if you deny the whole residential school system and its impact on Indigenous people and the trauma that was created from those schools and the deaths then, of course, it should be seen as hate speech."

Under section 319 of the criminal code, the wilful promotion of hatred or antisemitism, unless in a private conversation, could lead to up to two years in prison. This includes "condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust."

Sunchild who has represented countless residential school survivors and, most notably, Colton Boushie's family during the controversial Gerald Stanley trialsaid interlocutor Kimberly Murray's report made it clear more must to be done to address denialism.

"There needs to be consequences for people who are promoting hatred," Sunchild said.

Murray's interim report detailed denialism and other challenges that remain for Indigenous families and communities trying to search for unmarked graves.

As an example, she listed how residential school deniers tried to dig up suspected unmarked grave sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, not believing a May 2021 announcement from the Tk'emlps te Secwpemc that as many as 215 Indigenous children had been buried there.

"Denialism is violence. Denialism is calculated. Denialism is harmful. Denialism is hate," Murray said in a news conference last Friday.

"Denialism is a non-Indigenous problem and therefore it's for non-Indigenous people to address it."

Last week, federal Justice Minister David Lametti said he was open to outlawing residential school denialism with criminal and civil measures similar to those used to punish people who deny, minimize or condone the Holocaust.

"I just simply can't imagine the devastating impact that it would have on a survivor or on a family or a community that has seen this directly," Lametti said Friday.

"I pledge to do my best here."

WATCH|Lawyer says residential school denialism should be added to Criminal Code:

Lawyer says residential school denialism should be added to Criminal Code

1 year ago

Duration 2:05

Eleanore Sunchild argues that residential school denialism is equivalent to Holocaust denialism.

Online misinformation likelya factor: professor

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand said he found the rise in residential school denialismmentioned in the report concerning but not surprising.

"Every day people tell us, 'Get over it now. It's over.' People don't realize the pain and suffering our people went through," he said.

"It's a problem we've got to address and we've got to use it as an educational tool."

WATCH | Interlocutor to co-ordinate government response to residential school unmarked graves:

Interlocutor to co-ordinate government response to residential school unmarked graves

2 years ago

Duration 6:54

Kimberly Murray will serve as special interlocutor to co-ordinate the government's response to unmarked graves that have been identified at a number of former residential school sites.

Leta Kingfisher, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the First Nations University of Canada, agreed that education is key to fighting denialism, but said it won't be easy.

Having taught Indigenous studies for more than two decades, Kingfisher said she's noticed more of her students in recent years disregarding her teachings about residential schools.

"It's a growing sentiment from non-Indigenous students of, 'Enough already. We've heard it,'" she explained.

Kingfisher suspects misinformation online is partly to blame for what she calls "a humanity disconnect."

She emphasized that the preservation of documents such as the confidential records of residential school survivors' applications and testimonies from the Independent Assessment Process is also critical for fact-checking the naysayers.

"We need documents for the deniers. It's not apparently enough that the buildings are there. It's not enough that there are pictures that there's documentation and proof that resulted in settlements," Kingfisher said.

"I'm not sure what else can be done."

According to the interlocutor's interim report, the Supreme Court of Canada has ordered these records be destroyed in September 2027, "unless survivors opt to preserve them for historical, public education and research purposes at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation."

In the meantime, Kingfisher said denialism hurtsIndigenous families.

"Sometimes, it gets overwhelming the capabilities of people to completely disengage from their behaviours and their impact on strangers and why that isn't being questioned," she said.

"It's just a continuation of dehumanization of Indigenous peoples."

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 orby online chat.