Editor:
As a Canadian, born and raised in this country and having worked all my life, paying taxes to make Canada a better place to live for all Canadians, I do not feel that the taxpayers of Canada should be fully responsible to pay for the injustices committed in residential schools. Yes, the Canadian government of the day chose to set up these residential schools, but they contracted with the Catholic Church to operate many of them.
I believe the Canadian government must hold the Catholic Church fully and financially responsible to compensate the children and families of all those who attended these schools and were subject to such heinous atrocities. The Canadian government may be 10 or 15 per cent responsible for setting up these schools, but the Catholic Church should be 85 to 90 per cent responsible to pay for all compensation and investigation required to resolve this issue. It is no different than requiring the forfeiture of the proceeds of crime from criminals. The Catholic Church must also be required to turn over all records for all of the residential schools that they were contracted and paid to operate.
If our current government does not hold the Catholic Church responsible for their involvement in this injustice, then they should not be re-elected and a new government should force the Catholic Church to be fully accountable, no matter how much of their assets have to be sold to get the required compensation to all of the affected families.
Brian Hulme, Sechelt
