June 5: A racial death. Plus other letters to the editor

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A racial death

The final report of the 2 ½-year National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls puts a formal stamp on what has long been known – that the violence against First Nations women is part of the centuries-old assault against our Indigenous peoples – and characterizes it as a genocide.

Among the many recommendations of the inquiry is the call to action to the public to denounce violence and racism against Indigenous women and girls, and to learn the true history of the Indigenous experience in Canada.

The Foundation for Genocide Education has long advocated for the universal study in Canadian high schools of all recognized genocides. The guide on genocide in which we are partnering with the Quebec Education Ministry will be including the genocide of the First Nations peoples of Canada. This is a long overdue and necessary step to fulfill the claims of Indigenous leaders, and to educate future generations that a genocide actually happened in our own country.

Marcy Bruck, communications director, Foundation for Genocide Education; Montreal

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Genocide. Definition: the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political or cultural group. Related words: massacre, carnage, holocaust, annihilation, decimation.

The murder or disappearance of more than 1,181 Indigenous women is a tragic and black mark in the history of this country. The Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has recommended a number of appropriate actions to help rectify the condition of Canada’s Indigenous communities.

However, to conclude that the treatment of Indigenous people here, both historically and currently, is “deliberate race, identity and gender-based genocide” as stated by Marion Buller, chief commissioner of the inquiry, is an excessive, improper (and, in my view, harmful) use of the term.

Describing Canada’s treatment of its Indigenous communities as genocidal is to conflate Canada with the Nazi extermination of Jews, the Rwandan genocide, the ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian war, or the systematic extermination of Armenians within the former Ottoman Empire.

Perhaps Ms. Buller and her fellow commissioners felt that a description of this magnitude was required to shock people into action. In my view, it will have a negative impact and not assist in healing the relationship between Canada’s citizens and its Indigenous communities.

Ronald Carr, North Vancouver

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More and more, we see the expressions “my truth” and “their truths” being used. This wording suggests there is more than one truth and contributes to the current environment where facts don’t seem to matter. Perhaps “experience” is what is being described. Let’s stop suggesting the truth is flexible.

Ruth Burnstein, Toronto

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To equate violence against First Nations with genocide is a prime example of the debasement of language by hyperbole. It does damage to the objective of reducing violence, since the word misdirects our attention from true causes and practical remedies.

But more than that, like all word inflation, it debases the ultimate horror of true genocides, such as the Holocaust and Rwanda, which involve explicit intent, central planning, official backing, and grim determination in their execution. Headlining the report with the word “genocide” is a red herring, calculated to draw attention rather than offer constructive direction.

Brian P.H. Green, Thunder Bay, Ont.

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It is outrageous that the focus has been on the word “genocide,” and the nuances of what the word means to politicians and human-rights activists. Once again, we have failed our Indigenous peoples by not talking about the real issues. When will we learn?

Anthea Gomez, Brampton, Ont.

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Scrolling through the online comments on this story made for some very sad reading. Let’s take some time following the release of the report to reflect on the lives lost and damaged, without defensive responses to the words used.

The report’s authors witnessed a great deal of real pain, and they chose their words for a reason. Now is the time for reflection.

Simon Renouf, Edmonton

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The word genocide is normally associated with dictatorial regimes, or with the concept, or policy, of annihilation. The word “assimilation” is probably a more appropriate word in the Canadian context. With genocide, the peoples disappear; with assimilation, only the culture is gone. Perhaps, though, in the end there is no difference – it is a racial death.

Douglas Cornish, Ottawa

CEO’s $29-million

Re HBC Compensation Draws Criticism (June 4): Hudson’s Bay CEO Helena Foulkes’s compensation is outrageous when compared with the wages paid to the front-line employees at your local HBC store. If Ms. Foulkes were to take a pay cut to her $29-million compensation package to, say, a (paltry) $8-million, the savings would allow for nearly 600 additional employees at $35,000 a year each. How much of a stretch is it to believe that a few more employees at each HBC outlet would improve customers’ experiences, and consequently sales?

David Woodfine, Peterborough, Ont.

Faith in doctors

Re Physician, Heal Thyself (June 1): Gabrielle Horne wonders how a patient can judge whether s/he is in the hands of a good doctor, and worries that senior doctors may transmit improper attitudes and values.

One way to ensure development of good doctors might be to have clinical teachers nominated by patients. Teaching good practice is not just the ability to collate academic information. Patients who have received good care would know, especially if they have encountered multiple doctors. If this were the case, I’m sure students would not be taught to impose the “one problem per visit” rule that seems to be prevalent.

Frances Leung, MD, Toronto

Reasonable (for Trump)

Re Trump Mocks Khan To Kick Off U.K. Trip (June 4): Donald Trump seems to have carried off his state visit to the U.K. with a minimum of controversy. Apart from insulting the mayor of London and the Duchess of Sussex, he was reasonably well-behaved. U.S. news coverage has commended him for managing to follow instructions in reviewing the troops, for not slouching or fidgeting during the Westminster Abbey ceremony, and for reading his toast to the Queen without any of his usual cringe-worthy ad libs. The bar is set so low for Mr. Trump that it recalls Samuel Johnson’s quip about a dog walking on its hind legs: It is not done well, but the surprise is that it is done at all.

Tom MacDonald, Ottawa

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My thoughts and prayers went out to my Monarch during Donald Trump’s visit. I bet she would have preferred to be at a Raptors game.

Richard Barrett, Mississauga