Unintended Shaming: How Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples Impact Immigrants and Their Descendants in Canada

@WeAreCanProud We can guarantee you one thing: Guilbeault will NOT be apologizing for letting Jasper burn down.
@SkillsGapTrain @WeAreCanProud We’re not familiar with Indigenous issues, since none of our colleagues over the last 20 to 30 years, have ever seen any Canadians discuss these issues in any context and in any location.
However, we are beginning to gain exposure now, since we have heard there are a lot of apologies ongoing by Liberal Party, that somehow are said to be connected with all Canadians.
But since we have never heard about Indigenous life, how can it be connected as the government says. This seems to be a contradiction, therefore, we investigate.
So we begin to learn slowly on this topic, even if we are STEM professionals, and have never seen any STEM teams connected in any way to this colonial thing.
Mr. Guilbeault’s apology tour seems to overlook those that were likely innocent here, the immigrants and their descendants in modern Canadian society.
Since 1867, over 17 million immigrants have arrived in Canada, and these individuals, along with their children, now make up a substantial portion of the population.
Based on historical fertility trends, we estimate that immigrants have had approximately 10 to 12 million children since Confederation.
Combined, this means that 18 to 20 million people in Canada today are either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. It could be much higher also.
With Canada’s current population at 41 million, this shows that a significant portion of Canadians, up to 20 million (but no less than 18 million in the worst-case scenario), are either immigrants themselves or directly descended from immigrants who arrived after colonialism.
*** These type of estimates are difficult and take a lot of time to get right, so they are approximations.
Many of these individuals and families have no historical connection to colonial actions, yet they will likely be included in Mr. Guilbeault’s apology, and the apologies of the Liberal government from 2015 to 2024, every year.
At no point did the Liberal Party create a caveat for the portion of the population that is not involved in harming Indigenous people.
This creates a sense of misplaced guilt or shame among Canadians whose families had no involvement in those historical events.
As a public representative, Mr. Guilbeault is transferring blame and shame up to 18 to 20 million innocent individuals, that are not connected in any way with those events.
Let’s examine the nature of activities of these immigrants and their children, after colonialism, and whether they pushed towards increasing oppression since Confederation, or whether they pushed towards improving freedom.
The post-Confederation era with the immigrants in Canada attempted to improve the situation of Indigenous peoples, to take it out of the colonial past, but this took time.
We heard, that policies like the Indian Act of 1876 imposed harmful restrictions, but they were moves towards improvement over time, ex:
  • Creation of Reserve Lands
  • Protection of Land from Alienation
  • Legal Recognition of Indigenous Status
  • Tax Exemptions and Other Benefits
  • Historical Efforts at Reform
  • Recognition of Indigenous Self-Government, etc..
In the immigrant era also, there have been more attempts at improvement out of the previous colonial history by attempting to grant citizenship rights in 1960 and the recognition of Indigenous rights in 1982.

Positive Examples:

  • Establishment of Treaty Rights
  • Creation of Reserve Lands – Granting of Voting Rights (1960)
  • Recognition of Indigenous Citizenship (1960)
  • Legal Recognition of Indigenous Rights (1982 – Constitution Act)
  • Reforms to the Indian Act (e.g., Gender Equality Amendments)
  • Creation of Indigenous Advocacy Groups
  • Land Claim Settlements
  • Creation of Indigenous Self-Government Agreements
  • Tax Exemptions and Economic Benefits for Status Indians
  • Formal Apologies and Reconciliation Efforts
  • Establishment of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2008-2015)
  • Return of Traditional Lands through Land Restitution
  • Recognition of Indigenous Languages as Official
  • Languages in Some Regions
  • Indigenous Involvement in Environmental Stewardship
  • Increased Indigenous Representation in Government
  • Cultural Revitalization and Language Programs Establishment of National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21)
  • Improvement in Indigenous Education Rights and Access
  • Creation of the First Indigenous Governor General (Mary Simon, 2021)
Title: Restoring Justice for Millennials and Gen Z: Addressing Economic Inequities Through Fair Land Redistribution” x.com/SkillsGapTrain
The ongoing improvements in Indigenous rights and relations in Canada are significantly influenced by the efforts and advocacy of Indigenous leaders, activists, and specific policy initiatives, and while immigrants and their descendants contribute to societal progress, their role should be acknowledged within this broader context.
Only about 22 to 23 million Canadians have direct ancestral ties to the colonial era by blood.
Mr. Guilbeault has not attempted to calculate the differential when he is doing his shaming of Canadians process, which is not even his job.
His actual job is “Minister of Environment and Climate Change”, and he isn’t studying how to do energy efficient transport systems that do not use EV technologies, such as these.
The following would benefit Canada, so he avoids to do it, because it takes skill to get it done, and it’s a lot easier to shame Canadians at a park than it is to do the job.
Title: “Beyond EVs: Top 10 Revolutionary Vehicle Technologies for a Sustainable and Innovative Future” x.com/SkillsGapTrain
Title: “Enhancing Vehicle Efficiency Through Weight Reduction and Natural Gas Hybrid Systems” x.com/SkillsGapTrain
At a time when pressing environmental issues, such as the recent Jasper wildfires, require immediate attention, it may be more productive to focus on solutions for all Canadians, rather than on symbolic gestures that risk assigning shame to the population as a whole, without avoiding to assign it to third parties.
The contributions of immigrants and their descendants have shaped modern Canada, and policies should reflect this diversity without assigning collective responsibility for past wrongs, especially to people that didn’t do anything bad at all ever, and in act only ever took positive actions throughout their entire existence. That’s immoral and unjust what this Liberal Party and Steven Guilbeault does, in rewriting history and rewriting morality.
Mr. Guibeault is a representative for all, and should not misrepresent his population to the public, especially since he’s in charge of climate, which is. different subject than his adventures at parks.
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