Why do we need a National Day of Truth and Reconciliation?We don’t..Indigenous people don’t, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does. That's because his statist policies are doing nothing for indigenous people in Canada — just as the billions of dollars spent on indigenous issues have done little to nothing to improve their livelihood on reserves — except for their leadership that has been assiduously siphoning-off the funding for years, enriching their lives while keeping their people poor. .There have been billions of dollars of reconciliation spent over the years, but not very much truth exchanged in the process. .It is time to stop treating indigenous Canadians like victims. They aren’t and don’t want to be treated as helpless incidents of history. As Canadians, they are successful businessman, powerful politicians, leaders of their communities, brilliant, creative and — guess what? — equal with any other Canadian. .They don’t require a special day to stew over the mistakes of history. .But Justin Trudeau is desperate for more attention as he claims to be the prime minister of reconciliation with natives. Is that why he threw the first native justice minister, Jody Raybould-Wilson, under the bus over the SNC-Lavalin scandal? What has Trudeau done to improve the lot of indigenous people living on reserves that are inundated with poverty, squalor, drug and alcohol abuse and toxic drinking water? Nothing but talk about how everybody but him is guilty for these conditions. .It is time to end the reserve system in its current form and for all indigenous people to realize full equality under the law. No race or ethnic group in Canada should be granted special status. Has having that special status done anything to improve their economic status? Absolutely not. .Clearly, Trudeau was bothered by the amount of indigenous and Metis people who participated in the Freedom Convoy. I met with many of them. One elderly native woman was run over by a police officer’s horse and no action was ever taken against the offending member. .Indigenous culture is a rich and vital part of Canada’s history and tradition, as is that of the English, Scottish, French, Ukrainians, Italians, Irish, Jamaican, Sikh and Indian. But we don’t need a special day for every ethnic group in Canada, that merely spikes division and engenders more identity politics based on differences, not on shared similarities.We all love Canada because it stands for freedom, liberty of the individual, free speech, freedom of religion and the right to oppose the government. At least that’s always been what Canada is all about. .It’s a bit like the current obsession with “white privilege” and Critical Race Theory. These noxious racist theories divide the populace into victims and victimizers; the oppressed and oppressors. We need to stop telling people their race determines at birth whether they win or lose in society; it’s about as valid a prognosis as the prediction inside a fortune cookie. .And just what is the “truth" going to be in this Truth and Reconciliation Day? That Canada was always a racist country that attempted to eradicate all traces of its indigenous population as if it operated a systematic program of genocide?.This, of course, is nonsense. Canada has always been one of the freest counties in the world where, despite some odious attitudes in the past, all races managed to live, work and grow their families. The British Empire outlawed slavery long before many African nations and elevated the lives of indigenous people around the world in an enlightened spirit of Christian dedication. .People are vandalizing statues of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and removing his name from schools because he was a white male and not an acolyte of the LGBTQ agenda. Of course Canada’s history is not perfect but it’s a hell of lot better than most other nations, including those First Nations who frequently warred and offered a harsh life that for many was “nasty, brutish and short,” to quote the great Hobbes. .So if you really want to make a difference in the lives of indigenous people, offer them the same freedom that every Canadian should be enjoying. Lower their taxes so they can create their own jobs; slash regulations in order to prosper their businesses; stop trying to censor their communication on the internet. Stop treating them as victims and start realizing they are equals who can compete with anyone else when granted an equal playing field.
