Prentice Under Fire For Residential School Comment

Prentice Under Fire For Residential School Comment

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 17:55

 

 

Northern Saskatchewan’s Member of Parliament says Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice owes two apologies to Aboriginal people.

 

Gary Merasty says the Conservative government needs to formally apologize to Canada’s Native population for the devastation caused by the residential schools.

 

Merasty also says Prentice owes an apology himself for comments he made while explaining why the Tories won’t be apologizing to Aboriginal people.

 

Prentice told the Globe and Mail earlier this week that the residential schools were not in the same category as the Maher Arar case or the Chinese head tax issue.

 

Merasty says those statements are “extremely insulting”, and Prentice is showing an “incredible amount of disrespect”.

 

The Liberal MP says Prentice is “displaying complete ignorance and a lack of any awareness” regarding the residential schools file.

 

Prentice says an apology is not part of the residential school compensation agreement, and that’s why the federal government won’t be offering one.

 

(includes files from Broadcast News)