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Work of reconciliation 'far from finished,' Carney says · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: I'm going to begin by acknowledging the children who were
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  Speaker 1: here and to thank you and your parents for bringing you.
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  Speaker 1: I used to come here as a child. I lived
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  Speaker 1: not far from here. I used to come to Fort Edmonton.
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  Speaker 1: It was quite different. The lessons it left were very different, incomplete, partial.
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  Speaker 1: Today is about all the truth, and it's for the children,
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  Speaker 1: those children, those survivors, those who didn't survive, but the
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  Speaker 1: children who bring forward. So to the survivors here with us,
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  Speaker 1: and to your families near and far, we're here to
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  Speaker 1: honour you. Today's ceremony calls on us to hear your stories,
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  Speaker 1: and to reflect on a dark chapter in Canada's past,
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  Speaker 1: and to commit to move forward together. In Elder Maryland's
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  Speaker 1: prayer and blessing and reflection, we see and hear the traditions,
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  Speaker 1: and in the music and the dance, we see the
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  Speaker 1: traditions that can be carried forward through generations, traditions that
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  Speaker 1: somehow have been protected and preserved. Despite the fact that
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  Speaker 1: for more than a century, this country ran residential schools,
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  Speaker 1: over 150,000 First Nations, Métis, Inuit children attended them. So
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  Speaker 1: many were taken from their homes, their families, all were separated,
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  Speaker 1: all were separated from their culture, their language, their identities.
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  Speaker 1: Some never came home. And this is not a distant
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  Speaker 1: chapter in Canada's past, but a truth that endures. And
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  Speaker 1: truth is the foundation of justice. We shouldn't choose, as
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  Speaker 1: we used to here in Fort Edmonton, we shouldn't choose
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  Speaker 1: which parts of our history to remember. We shouldn't admire
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  Speaker 1: the beadwork of and forget the children that were forced
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  Speaker 1: into uniforms. We shouldn't honour the drum and ignore the
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  Speaker 1: years that it was made to fall silent. And we
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  Speaker 1: should not hear the truth of residential schools and fail
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  Speaker 1: to act on it. Honouring the history of Canada is
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  Speaker 1: looking at it from the other side, in all.
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  Speaker 2: Its truth, its beauty and its losses, its strength and
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  Speaker 2: the harms caused. Nations that were here well before the
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  Speaker 2: birth of our country, Canada, and the policies adopted to
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  Speaker 2: make them disappear. There is this other truth. Those nations
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  Speaker 2: are still very much alive. Their languages, their ceremonies, and
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  Speaker 2: their teachings accompany us this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Survivors carried the truth and carried this truth when this
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  Speaker 1: country would not More than 6,600 brave women and men
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  Speaker 1: told the truth to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, told
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  Speaker 1: the truth to people like Ron Javier, who had to
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  Speaker 1: hear the stories and relay them. And because of that courage,
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  Speaker 1: it's now on the record. And responding to these truths
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  Speaker 1: is now our responsibility. We are responding. We are responding.
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  Speaker 1: The gaps are still large, but we are responding. We're
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  Speaker 1: closing gaps in education to ensure children on reserve have
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  Speaker 1: access to high-quality education that respects and embraces their culture.
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  Speaker 1: We are building homes for families on reserve and throughout
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  Speaker 1: the country. We're improving access to drinking water. We just
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  Speaker 1: put in new legislation. and investing billions to maintain and
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  Speaker 1: operate drinking water and wastewater systems. Building healthier communities, an
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  Speaker 1: emphasis on mental wellness, primary care, culturally relevant care for
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  Speaker 1: First Nations.
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  Speaker 2: We are building a Canada that is stronger, more just,
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  Speaker 2: and more prosperous. A Canada that does what is right.
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  Speaker 2: A Canada where we join forces to offer the next
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  Speaker 2: generation a life that is better and fairer.
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  Speaker 1: We know in all this building, and you hear a
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  Speaker 1: lot about me, or from me, about building. It's not
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  Speaker 1: just what we build, it's how we build. And it's
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  Speaker 1: building sustainably, and sustainably means embedding indigenous knowledge and leadership
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  Speaker 1: in our conservation efforts. And it means building in true
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  Speaker 1: partnership with indigenous peoples, meaningful opportunities, meaningful opportunities to develop, operate,
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  Speaker 1: and own major infrastructure, to share truly in the prosperity
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  Speaker 1: that's created. My point is we are making some progress,
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  Speaker 1: but we know the work of reconciliation is far, far
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  Speaker 1: from finished. The wounds are still too deep. The gaps
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  Speaker 1: are still too wide. Reconciliation is a journey, not a destination.
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  Speaker 1: It's an attitude, not an achievement. Our job is to
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  Speaker 1: move together as far and as fast down the path
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  Speaker 1: as we can. So, Elder Buffalo, you gave us permission,
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  Speaker 1: you encouraged us to celebrate today. I'm going to leave
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  Speaker 1: with a different message, but consistent. When we leave here today,
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  Speaker 1: let's the work of reconciliation continue. And when this ceremony
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  Speaker 1: closes with a performance from Perfect Storm, our joy will
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  Speaker 1: be to listen. That's the celebration. Our responsibility, certainly the
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  Speaker 1: responsibility of government, is to reflect, and our task will
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  Speaker 1: be to act together. Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.