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Justin Trudeau’s incessant contrition has been tiresome but, to this point, relatively benign

If you are a gay man or woman drummed out of the public service, the descendant of Sikhs turned away on the Komagata Maru, a survivor of Newfoundland’s residential schools or a member of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation, which saw six of its chiefs hanged in 1864, the prime minister’s rendering of a tear-stained formal apology may have offered some comfort.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Ivison: Liberals using MS St. Louis apology to prop up failing asylum-seeker policies is unconscionable Back to video

But with news the government will formally apologize for Canada’s 1939 decision to turn away the MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 907 German Jews fleeing the Nazi regime, Trudeau has gone beyond merely apologizing for things that happened long before he was born.

This particular apology is being used to justify and exonerate current (failing) government policy on migrants crossing into Canada from the U.S.

Omar Alghabra, the parliamentary secretary to the trade minister, tweeted that Canada must reconcile its promotion of human rights globally with mistakes made at home. “We turned away asylum seekers without giving them due process and dignity. We must learn from our history.”