There are going to be a lot of racist asshole morons , some of who will even claim to not be, who will be celebrating kkkanada day despite the "dark chapter" in the country's history .
Residential schools were not a "dark chapter" but rather the actual history of the building of this country on the death and bones of Indigenous Peoples. If you can still celebrate your "best country in the world, eh" bullshit after all of the recent revelations of unmarked graves of children , then fuck off. Try the cliched exercise of "walking a mile in the other person's shoes" and see if you still fucking feel the same. Reverse the races and see if you still feel like celebrating.
Is there a way that anyone can be surprised that churches are being burned down in the wake of all of those Indigenous childrens' unmarked graves being found in Kamloops and Saskatchewan ?
What's surprising is that this didn't happen decades ago, along with various government offices .
2 more Catholic churches burned down in B.C.'s Interior
A fire destroyed the Chopaka church on the Lower Similkameen Indian Band reserve in B.C. in the early hours of Saturday, June 26, 2021. (Submitted by Chief Keith Crow)
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Two more Catholic churches on reserves in British Columbia's southern Interior burned down Saturday morning.
Lower Similkameen Indian Band Chief Keith Crow says he received a call at about 4 a.m. PT that the Chopaka church was on fire. By the time he arrived about 30 minutes later, it had burned to the ground.
"I'm angry," Crow said. "I don't see any positive coming from this and it's going to be tough."
Crow said he later received a call from the Upper Similkameen Indian Band, near Hedley, telling him a church on that reserve had burned down as well.
The Upper Similkameen Indian Band confirmed that St. Ann's Church was destroyed overnight. A representative for the band said officials are currently working with RCMP at the site of the fire.
In a written statement, RCMP said both fires started within an hour of each other early Saturday morning. They said the Chopaka church fire had spread to nearby brush, but B.C. Wildfire crews were able to attend to it before it spread.
'It's not just coincidence'
Crow said the fire in his community is still under investigation, adding that the fact it came on the heels of overnight fires that destroyed two other churches in the Okanagan earlier this week is suspicious.
"There's got to be something more to it," he said. "It's not just coincidence."
RCMP said they're treating Saturday's fires as suspicious, and investigating any possible links to the Okanagan church fires.
"The investigations into the previous fires and these two new fires are ongoing with no arrests or charges," said Sgt. Jason Bayda with Penticton South RCMP.
Anyone with information about the fires is asked to contact the Penticton RCMP detachment at 250-492-4300.
People in the community are very upset about the fire, Crow said.
Many of them are members of the Catholic Church, he said, and are still grappling with the news from last month that a preliminary scan uncovered the remains of as many as 215 children buried at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., about 200 kilometres north of Hedley.
Earlier this week, the Cowessess First Nation said a preliminary scan discovered hundreds of unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.
'Mixed emotions'
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, previously told CBC News there are "mixed emotions" about the Catholic Church among Penticton Indian Band members.
Phillip said some members of the community have "an intense hatred for the Catholic Church in regard to the residential school experience."
Crow said he is taking part in a caravan of leaders, Indian residential school survivors, families and elders that will journey from Penticton to Kamloops on Saturday.
Hundreds of people have planned to take part in the caravan, he said, showing the unity of the people throughout the region.
"I feel good today for doing this, but I'm upset with the church being burned down last night," he said.
The convoy was organized by the Syilx Okanagan Nation.
A historical church in northwestern B.C., in the Gitwangak First Nation, was also damaged by fire early Saturday.
The steps of St. Paul's Anglican Church in Gitwangak, northwest of Smithers, were lit on fire, according to Gitwangak elected Chief Sandra Larin.
Larin said volunteer firefighters put out the fire quickly and damage was minimal. The all-wood structure was built by the community in the 1890s but now is vacant and not used by the community.
Larin said the building has a complex history. Some people were married in the church or held funerals for family members there. Others associated the church with residential school abuse.
"There was very mixed reactions," she said about the fire. "Emotions are very high right now but I think someone was angry enough to burn it down."
New Hazelton RCMP said they are treating the fire as suspicious and investigating if there are any connections to recent church fires in the South Okanagan.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
Meanwhile, Larin said she wants to see healing in the community.
"Tolerance is what's needed," she said. "Supporting each other no matter what side of the coin you're on."
Rev. Owen Keenan, a Roman Catholic priest in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, gives daily mass at the Merciful Redeemer Parish on June 15, 2021. He is under fire for comments about residential schools he made in a recent sermon. (Merciful Redeemer Parish/YouTube)
A Mississauga, Ont., priest is under fire after a sermon referencing the "good done" by the Roman Catholic Church in residential schools, saying some might go so far as to even thank it.
"Two-thirds of the country is blaming the church, which we love, for the tragedies that occurred there," he said on a video originally posted to the church's YouTube page but since deleted. Clips of his sermon continue to circulate on social media.
"I presume the same number would thank the church for the good done in those schools, but of course, that question was never asked and we are not allowed to even say that good was done there. I await to see what comes to my inbox."
'Extremely harmful to reconciliation'
A clip of Keenan's comments sparked outrage on social media, with one person tweeting that the priest's comments were "really disgusting" and that "the Church is not the victim."
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, a practising Catholic, said she was "extremely disappointed" by her pastor's comments about residential schools.
Reading from a prepared statement at a news conference Thursday, the mayor called Keenan's homily "deeply insensitive to Indigenous Canadians, particularly at a time when Indigenous communities are in pain as they unearth more mass graves at the sites of former residential schools."
"His comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the core tragedies of the residential school system in Canada," she said. "The children were forcibly separated from their parents."
Crombie said how Canada's history has been taught obscures the truth behind what really happened: The federal government and many churches, including the Catholic Church, operated these schools for close to 150 years, committing atrocities and silencing voices forever.
"No apology from the federal government or the church will be enough to undo the havoc that was wreaked through these institutions," Crombie said. "But an apology is where we must start. It's a basic and it's a fundamental foundation to our reconciliation."
Dr. Suzanne Shoush, who is Indigenous, works for the Catholic-run health network Unity Health Toronto. She is demanding the Pope apologize for the church's role in residential schools. She said comments like those made by Keenan are damaging to reconciliation and exemplify why Catholic leaders need to intervene.
"This is part of the reason why we keep pushing to have a formal asking of forgiveness to Indigenous people in Canada from the Pope himself," she said.
"It's really critical that it comes from the leadership so that we stop having these incredibly ignorant and harmful comments coming from across the church. I think that what we're seeing is extremely harmful to reconciliation."
An undated photo of Kamloops residential school students and a priest. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)
Keenan also said in his sermon that while the church should apologize for its participation in the "ill-devised government project," it should also wait to find out who was buried at the Kamloops site and why before "rendering ultimate judgment."
During a mass on June 6, Keenan said the discovery was "very sad" and a symbol of the "ongoing tragedy" of government policies against Indigenous people, but also that:
"We don't know how those children died. We don't know, we can't know, if they would've died if they stayed at home."
While he called for prayers and reconciliation, he also said, "Many people had very positive experiences of residential schools. Many people received health care and education and joyful experiences.
"They weren't universally awful. But there's still no place for the horrors that are alleged to have occurred there."
Residential school survivors have shared horrific accounts of abuse, starvation and neglect, and difficulties getting documents from the Catholic Church, which ran the majority of the schools. The final 2015 report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins by stating that what took place at residential schools "can be best described as 'cultural genocide.'"
"The church actively sought to exercise exclusive control over the welfare of these children and therefore are exclusively responsible for the conditions which these children lived in," Shoush said.
In a statement to CBC News Wednesday, Keenan defended his comments, saying that he was trying to help his congregation struggling with negative news about the church.
"I am deeply sorry, embarrassed, ashamed and shocked at the revelations of abuse, destruction and harm done in residential schools across this country," he said in the statement. "I in no way condone the system ... As a Catholic and a priest, I wish I could say 'I'm sorry' to everyone who suffered harm."
The Archdiocese of Toronto said in a statement it's been in contact with Keenan "to convey the deep pain and anger" some felt. He has "pledged to fully educate himself" about the history of residential schools.
"We apologize to anyone offended by his remarks," the archdiocese said.
Pastor criticizes Pride flags at schools
In the same sermon, Keenan criticized Catholic schools for flying Pride flags this month, saying the church had hoped they'd show "courage" by displaying a cross or sacred heart instead. He described the Pride flag as "the standard of contemporary sexual licence" that's replacing Catholic symbols.
Keenan did not respond to questions from CBC News about his comments toward the LGBTQ community.
Crombie said she told Keenan his comments have no place in the city of Mississauga.
"He expressed his shame and remorse," she said.
Keith Baybayon says schools help make LGBTQ students feel more included and safe by flying the Pride flag. (Jared Thomas/CBC)
LGBTQ activist Keith Baybayon, who is also a student trustee with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said members of the Catholic Church have ramped up these kinds of comments as more Ontario school boards agree to fly Pride flags every June. The flag holds a special meaning of inclusion for the LGBTQ community that the cross doesn't, he said.
"Flying the Pride flag can really express solidarity that the school boards have with their LGBTQ students and staff, ensuring that they belong, their voices are heard," Baybayon said.
"We're not taking away the cross. We're not taking away the sacred heart. They're all going up there to ensure that every single person is represented in our board."
Priest under fire after sermon on the 'good done' by Catholic Church on residential schools
Rev. Owen Keenan, a Roman Catholic priest in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, gives daily mass at the Merciful Redeemer Parish on June 15, 2021. He is under fire for comments about residential schools he made in a recent sermon. (Merciful Redeemer Parish/YouTube - image credit)
A Mississauga, Ont., priest is under fire after a sermon referencing the "good done" by the Roman Catholic Church in residential schools, saying some might go so far as to even thank it.
"Two-thirds of the country is blaming the church, which we love, for the tragedies that occurred there," he said on a video originally posted to the church's YouTube page but since deleted. Clips of his sermon continue to circulate on social media.
"I presume the same number would thank the church for the good done in those schools, but of course, that question was never asked and we are not allowed to even say that good was done there. I await to see what comes to my inbox."
'Extremely harmful to reconciliation'
A clip of Keenan's comments sparked outrage on social media, with one person tweeting that the priest's comments were "really disgusting" and that "the Church is not the victim."
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, a practising Catholic, said she was "extremely disappointed" by her pastor's comments about residential schools.
Reading from a prepared statement at a news conference Thursday, the mayor called Keenan's homily "deeply insensitive to Indigenous Canadians, particularly at a time when Indigenous communities are in pain as they unearth more mass graves at the sites of former residential schools."
"His comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the core tragedies of the residential school system in Canada," she said. "The children were forcibly separated from their parents."
Crombie said how Canada's history has been taught obscures the truth behind what really happened: The federal government and many churches, including the Catholic Church, operated these schools for close to 150 years, committing atrocities and silencing voices forever.
"No apology from the federal government or the church will be enough to undo the havoc that was wreaked through these institutions," Crombie said. "But an apology is where we must start. It's a basic and it's a fundamental foundation to our reconciliation."
Dr. Suzanne Shoush, who is Indigenous, works for the Catholic-run health network Unity Health Toronto. She is demanding the Pope apologize for the church's role in residential schools. She said comments like those made by Keenan are damaging to reconciliation and exemplify why Catholic leaders need to intervene.
"This is part of the reason why we keep pushing to have a formal asking of forgiveness to Indigenous people in Canada from the Pope himself," she said.
"It's really critical that it comes from the leadership so that we stop having these incredibly ignorant and harmful comments coming from across the church. I think that what we're seeing is extremely harmful to reconciliation."
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Keenan also said in his sermon that while the church should apologize for its participation in the "ill-devised government project," it should also wait to find out who was buried at the Kamloops site and why before "rendering ultimate judgment."
During a mass on June 6, Keenan said the discovery was "very sad" and a symbol of the "ongoing tragedy" of government policies against Indigenous people, but also that:
"We don't know how those children died. We don't know, we can't know, if they would've died if they stayed at home."
While he called for prayers and reconciliation, he also said, "Many people had very positive experiences of residential schools. Many people received health care and education and joyful experiences.
"They weren't universally awful. But there's still no place for the horrors that are alleged to have occurred there."
Residential school survivors have shared horrific accounts of abuse, starvation and neglect, and difficulties getting documents from the Catholic Church, which ran the majority of the schools. The final 2015 report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins by stating that what took place at residential schools "can be best described as 'cultural genocide.'"
"The church actively sought to exercise exclusive control over the welfare of these children and therefore are exclusively responsible for the conditions which these children lived in," Shoush said.
In a statement to CBC News Wednesday, Keenan defended his comments, saying that he was trying to help his congregation struggling with negative news about the church.
"I am deeply sorry, embarrassed, ashamed and shocked at the revelations of abuse, destruction and harm done in residential schools across this country," he said in the statement. "I in no way condone the system ... As a Catholic and a priest, I wish I could say 'I'm sorry' to everyone who suffered harm."
The Archdiocese of Toronto said in a statement it's been in contact with Keenan "to convey the deep pain and anger" some felt. He has "pledged to fully educate himself" about the history of residential schools.
"We apologize to anyone offended by his remarks," the archdiocese said.
Pastor criticizes Pride flags at schools
In the same sermon, Keenan criticized Catholic schools for flying Pride flags this month, saying the church had hoped they'd show "courage" by displaying a cross or sacred heart instead. He described the Pride flag as "the standard of contemporary sexual licence" that's replacing Catholic symbols.
Keenan did not respond to questions from CBC News about his comments toward the LGBTQ community.
Crombie said she told Keenan his comments have no place in the city of Mississauga.
"He expressed his shame and remorse," she said.
Jared Thomas/CBC
LGBTQ activist Keith Baybayon, who is also a student trustee with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said members of the Catholic Church have ramped up these kinds of comments as more Ontario school boards agree to fly Pride flags every June. The flag holds a special meaning of inclusion for the LGBTQ community that the cross doesn't, he said.
"Flying the Pride flag can really express solidarity that the school boards have with their LGBTQ students and staff, ensuring that they belong, their voices are heard," Baybayon said.
"We're not taking away the cross. We're not taking away the sacred heart. They're all going up there to ensure that every single person is represented in our board
Priest under fire after sermon on the 'good done' by Catholic Church on residential schools
Rev. Owen Keenan, a Roman Catholic priest in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, gives daily mass at the Merciful Redeemer Parish on June 15, 2021. He is under fire for comments about residential schools he made in a recent sermon. (Merciful Redeemer Parish/YouTube - image credit)
A Mississauga, Ont., priest is under fire after a sermon referencing the "good done" by the Roman Catholic Church in residential schools, saying some might go so far as to even thank it.
"Two-thirds of the country is blaming the church, which we love, for the tragedies that occurred there," he said on a video originally posted to the church's YouTube page but since deleted. Clips of his sermon continue to circulate on social media.
"I presume the same number would thank the church for the good done in those schools, but of course, that question was never asked and we are not allowed to even say that good was done there. I await to see what comes to my inbox."
'Extremely harmful to reconciliation'
A clip of Keenan's comments sparked outrage on social media, with one person tweeting that the priest's comments were "really disgusting" and that "the Church is not the victim."
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, a practising Catholic, said she was "extremely disappointed" by her pastor's comments about residential schools.
Reading from a prepared statement at a news conference Thursday, the mayor called Keenan's homily "deeply insensitive to Indigenous Canadians, particularly at a time when Indigenous communities are in pain as they unearth more mass graves at the sites of former residential schools."
"His comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the core tragedies of the residential school system in Canada," she said. "The children were forcibly separated from their parents."
Crombie said how Canada's history has been taught obscures the truth behind what really happened: The federal government and many churches, including the Catholic Church, operated these schools for close to 150 years, committing atrocities and silencing voices forever.
"No apology from the federal government or the church will be enough to undo the havoc that was wreaked through these institutions," Crombie said. "But an apology is where we must start. It's a basic and it's a fundamental foundation to our reconciliation."
Dr. Suzanne Shoush, who is Indigenous, works for the Catholic-run health network Unity Health Toronto. She is demanding the Pope apologize for the church's role in residential schools. She said comments like those made by Keenan are damaging to reconciliation and exemplify why Catholic leaders need to intervene.
"This is part of the reason why we keep pushing to have a formal asking of forgiveness to Indigenous people in Canada from the Pope himself," she said.
"It's really critical that it comes from the leadership so that we stop having these incredibly ignorant and harmful comments coming from across the church. I think that what we're seeing is extremely harmful to reconciliation."
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Keenan also said in his sermon that while the church should apologize for its participation in the "ill-devised government project," it should also wait to find out who was buried at the Kamloops site and why before "rendering ultimate judgment."
During a mass on June 6, Keenan said the discovery was "very sad" and a symbol of the "ongoing tragedy" of government policies against Indigenous people, but also that:
"We don't know how those children died. We don't know, we can't know, if they would've died if they stayed at home."
While he called for prayers and reconciliation, he also said, "Many people had very positive experiences of residential schools. Many people received health care and education and joyful experiences.
"They weren't universally awful. But there's still no place for the horrors that are alleged to have occurred there."
Residential school survivors have shared horrific accounts of abuse, starvation and neglect, and difficulties getting documents from the Catholic Church, which ran the majority of the schools. The final 2015 report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins by stating that what took place at residential schools "can be best described as 'cultural genocide.'"
"The church actively sought to exercise exclusive control over the welfare of these children and therefore are exclusively responsible for the conditions which these children lived in," Shoush said.
In a statement to CBC News Wednesday, Keenan defended his comments, saying that he was trying to help his congregation struggling with negative news about the church.
"I am deeply sorry, embarrassed, ashamed and shocked at the revelations of abuse, destruction and harm done in residential schools across this country," he said in the statement. "I in no way condone the system ... As a Catholic and a priest, I wish I could say 'I'm sorry' to everyone who suffered harm."
The Archdiocese of Toronto said in a statement it's been in contact with Keenan "to convey the deep pain and anger" some felt. He has "pledged to fully educate himself" about the history of residential schools.
"We apologize to anyone offended by his remarks," the archdiocese said.
Pastor criticizes Pride flags at schools
In the same sermon, Keenan criticized Catholic schools for flying Pride flags this month, saying the church had hoped they'd show "courage" by displaying a cross or sacred heart instead. He described the Pride flag as "the standard of contemporary sexual licence" that's replacing Catholic symbols.
Keenan did not respond to questions from CBC News about his comments toward the LGBTQ community.
Crombie said she told Keenan his comments have no place in the city of Mississauga.
"He expressed his shame and remorse," she said.
Jared Thomas/CBC
LGBTQ activist Keith Baybayon, who is also a student trustee with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said members of the Catholic Church have ramped up these kinds of comments as more Ontario school boards agree to fly Pride flags every June. The flag holds a special meaning of inclusion for the LGBTQ community that the cross doesn't, he said.
"Flying the Pride flag can really express solidarity that the school boards have with their LGBTQ students and staff, ensuring that they belong, their voices are heard," Baybayon said.
"We're not taking away the cross. We're not taking away the sacred heart. They're all going up there to ensure that every single person is represented in our board
