Canada’s Trudeau Uses UN Speech to Confront Painful Pasts

“There are, today, children living on reserve in Canada who cannot safely drink, or bathe in, or even play in the water that comes out of their taps,” he noted.

“There are indigenous parents who say goodnight to their children, and have to cross their fingers in the hopes that their kids won’t run away, or take their own lives in the night,” he continued. “Young indigenous people in Canada struggle to get a good education, and though residential schools are thankfully a thing of the past, too many Indigenous youth are still sent away, far from their families, just to get the basic education most Canadians take for granted.”

Amnesty International warned that threats of violence against indigenous women in Canada had grown so frequent and severe as to become a “human rights crisis.”

“That is the legacy of colonialism in Canada,” Trudeau said. “Of a paternalistic Indian Act. Of the forced relocation of Inuit and First Nations communities, and a systematic denial of Metis rights and history. Of residential schools that separated children as young as five years old from their families, punished them for speaking their own language, and sought to extinguish indigenous cultures entirely.”

Trudeau’s public airing of his country’s dirty laundry before the world stage puzzled much of the Canadian press, as reporters asked why the prime minister dedicated so much of his U.N. speech toward what they had believed to be a domestic matter.

Insisting that the issue was appropriate for the international body, Trudeau tied that issue to initiatives like the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda, which together with the Paris agreement sets goals for nations around the world to combat climate change.

“I think it’s important particularly reflecting on the sustainable development goals [SDGs] that we also acknowledge what we have to do,” he told a Canadian reporter. “As we look at the SDGs, which apply to every country, if there are things that we are not doing right at home, that we need to take responsibility for.”

Trudeau drew the same connection during his U.N. speech, noting that climate change landed hardest on indigenous and northern Canadians.

“In communities across the north – places like Paulatuk, Kugluktuk, and Tuktoyaktuk – where community members are finding sea ice conditions more dangerous and unpredictable for traveling and hunting in the winter,” he said.

The prime minister added that past impunity left Canada vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy in its human rights efforts.

“When I’ve suggested that certain countries have to do better on their own human rights – on their own internal challenges – the response has been, ‘Well, tell me about the plight of indigenous people in Canada,” he said.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump went before the international peacekeeping body with a far different message, one of patriotism, militarism, and a threat to “totally destroy” North Korea, a nation of 24 million people.

Perhaps displaying Canadian politeness toward a longtime ally, Trudeau danced diplomatically around criticizing Trump’s remarks.

Instead, the prime minister emphasized the importance of de-escalation through “our friends and allies” like the United States, South Korea and Japan and “important partners” like China and Russia to end “North Korea’s reckless behavior, preferably by diplomatic means, including through full support of the U.N. Security Council sanctions.”

As for the topic of his speech, Trudeau noted that the United States could point to its own history should it use the vehicle of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions to confront the legacies of slavery and white supremacy.

“I think that’s certainly something for Americans to reflect on and struggle with as Americans have led on in many cases over the last century, whether it’s the civil rights movement, or a strong example of the American Bill of Rights,” he said.

“There are extraordinary things that America has grappled with and overcome in its past, but as my example today in regards Canada certainly highlighted there’s always much more work to do, and there’s always an opportunity to reflect on that path forward that includes all voices and understands that the only way to move forward is together.”

[video width="640" height="360" mp4="http://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/UN-Trudeau.mp4"][/video]

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit