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Every Aboriginal person in Canada lives today with that legacy; every non-Aboriginal person does too, although they may not realize it. The legacy is there in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in foster care systems, and in the shocking stories about those systems that have recently made headlines in Alberta and Manitoba. It is in Canadians’ widespread ignorance of Aboriginal languages, names, practices and stories; that knowledge of this country’s heritage and culture has been stolen from all our children. It is in our correctional system, in the suicide and diabetes statistics. The government of this country deliberately broke families and communities, and that damage has not yet healed.

None of this ought to be news, of course. The commission recognized the work of the 1996 Royal Commission – but noted that most of those recommendations have been ignored. This is, as the commission puts it, a second chance to get it right. The scope of the TRC recommendations is broad, from an apology from the Pope to more federal money for the CBC, even a change to the oath of citizenship. But the scope of the damage is vast too.

If a government, university or religious organization chooses not to follow one of the recommendations in this report, it should make that choice deliberately and publicly, explaining its reasons and its alternative solution to the problem the recommendation identifies. Every recommendation should be, if not implemented, then addressed head-on, with the honesty and fair-dealing that have been absent in this country for too long. No more shrugging. No more turning away.