Prime Minister Stephen Harper fought back tears at one point as he told legislators and aboriginal representatives in a packed Parliamentary chamber that there could be no excuses for the abuse of aboriginal children in the schools.
Run by the Anglican, Roman Catholic, United and Presbyterian Churches, the schools were charged by the government with the job of assimilating indigenous children from the 1870s to the 1970s.
"The government of Canada sincerely apologises and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry," said Harper in a 15-minute address.
Around 150,000 aboriginal children were forced to live in the residential schools, where, according to accounts from survivors, children were beaten for speaking in their native languages and were told they would be damned unless they converted to Christianity. The abuse, they tell, ranged from mental, to physical and sexual.
Many native leaders believe that the social problems, including high unemployment and alcoholism, rife within Canada’s one million-strong aboriginal community today are the direct result of the abuse meted out by school supervisors.
The head of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, said the apology “for this dreadful chapter in our shared history” would ensure the survival of Canada’s aboriginal people.
