A very subdued Canada Day

Canada Day was very subdued this year, The usual proliferation of the red shirts and maple leaves was replaced with orange shirts in memory of the children stolen from their families and cultures by the British colonizers and the subsequent continuation of the abhorrent and shameful residential school system by Canada. Hopefully that is unambiguous.

It is an absolute disgrace that my nation tried to eradicate indigenous cultures through "education" and coercion. Were I a believer in any form of omniscient being and an afterlife, I would be firmly hoping that those responsible rot in hell. That includes the leaders of today's churches, who are ducking responsibility faster than Boris Johnson ducks paternity suits. 

The stories of the cruelty and pain, the beatings and neglect, the fear and mental, physical and sexual abuse handed out to these defenceless, terrified children makes my skin crawl. That I am associated to those that perpetrated this fills me with shame. McGill University have put together an interesting and informative collection of stories, should you wish to learn more.

Not a word from the UK about its role. Il papa expresses regret but no apology and no word on how his trillion-dollar regime can help to make it right. 

Meanwhile, my 8-year-old can celebrate life in its glory at his uncle's place, free from the censure and horror that the indigenous children had to face on a daily, hourly and, probably, minutely basis. A swim in a pool, a laugh and a joke, getting told off for eating too many sweets... this is what childhood is about.