A P.E.I.councillor is being asked to step down because he posted a sign outside his house that said “Mass Grave Hoax.” It also made references to John A. Macdonald and reconciliation..It was reported that indigenous people found this offensive.. PEI sign .This sign may be offensive to some Canadians. But a reasonable question that needs to be asked is this: “Is it not also offensive to allege without credible evidence that the employees of the Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS), including the indigenous employees, were responsible for the deaths and secret burials of 215 indigenous students?" .That is the claim made by the indigenous leadership at Kamloops. And that is one of many claims made by indigenous leaders with no supporting evidence. Is it not offensive to make baseless accusations against members of a religious group? And against Canada, their country?.Because the genocide motion that was recklessly moved in the House of Commons was based on those spurious claims. So is the new “Orange Shirt Day.”.Those allegations could not possibly be more serious — the serial murder and secret burial of 215 children. The murder and secret burial of “tens of thousands” more..What’s going on?.Are indigenous leaders entitled to different treatment than other Canadians? Are they excused for offensive conduct that would not be tolerated in others? Can they make incredibly serious claims, based on no good evidence with impunity?.Imagine if a member of another group alleged, without evidence, that indigenous people had killed and secretly buried 215 of their children? That person would almost surely be censured, or even charged with a hate crime. What double standard is at play here? Why are indigenous leaders entitled to make deeply offensive claims with no evidence to support them, while PEI councillors are held to a higher standard?.When Canada’s most senior indigenous leader, AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald alleged that residential schools were intended to kill children, that “tens of thousands” had been deliberately killed, and that 1600 bodies had already been recovered”, any fact-checker would find that this claim is false. .Archibald’s claim is just one of many baseless claims that resulted in the torching and desecration of more than 80 churches, the toppling of statues, and other acts of vandalism. It is only good luck that lives were not lost during that mayhem. Will no one be held accountable for that violence and destruction? .Since that May 27, 2021 Kamloops claim indigenous leaders have made these outlandish claims with no pushback. No social media outrage, no PM calling them “deniers” and other bad names. Nothing..Quite the opposite happened. The prime minister ordered that flags on government building be flown at half mast, hugged a teddy bear in a cemetery, and distributed $320,000,000 to any poor indigenous community willing to make a similar claim — virtually guaranteeing that even more specious claims would follow..Why are the anti-Catholic conspiracy claims of indigenous leaders accepted in this way, when anyone else making such baseless claims would probably be charged with a hate crime? .We are at a strange juncture in this country. Most Canadians are probably wondering why they were ever prepared to believe tales of thousands of priest murders and secret burials in apple orchards. Many now realize that these claims about secret burials and “thousands of missing children” who “were ripped from their mothers’ arms, went to residential school, and never returned” are false..There was never any credible evidence to support such claims. In fact, all of the historical records pointed exactly the other way. Yes, children who attended residential schools died from diseases, as did children who attended day schools or no school at all. They were given Christian burials. Some of the burial sites have been lost because they were not tended. There is nothing sinister about that. No evil priests, no drama. Just the sad reality of the time. .But opportunists who have built careers and obtained government grants based on these false stories don’t want the party to end. Most worrisome, however, are the many unsophisticated people who actually now firmly believe the stories these charlatans have promoted. They have been told lies for years that priests were murdering and burying children in secrecy, that residential schools were virtual charnel houses, and similar horror stories. Those lies have filled them with rage..Canada is in for a rough few years while we try to sort out this mess. The international community has seen for some time that Canada fell into some kind of strange Kamloops graves-inspired spell during our unsettling lockdown years. .The PEI councillor should be held to exactly the same standard as are the indigenous politicians. Those leaders, like RoseAnne Archibald, must come clean with their constituents. Our federal leaders leaders must stop playing political games with entire indigenous communities that now believe false stories..Or this will not end well.
