Special Interlocutor has No Authority to Demand Criminalization of Residential School Factualism
A civil servant who continually over steps her mandate
By
This article originally appeared on Medium.
Kimberly Murray, the independent special interlocutor on missing children, unmarked graves and burial sites associated with residential schools, is a civil servant, appointed by an Order in Council to report to the Justice Minister.
Her mandate calls for her to “function independently and impartially, in a non-partisan and transparent manner to achieve the objectives of her mandate.” She was to “begin a dialogue” with various affected domestic parties, review legislation, and to “Carry out this mandate in a manner that does not interfere with criminal investigations, prosecutions or civil proceedings.”
In contravention of this mandate, Ms. Murray took it upon herself in January 2023 to send an unvetted 21-page report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, prior to his visit to Canada to look into alleged human rights violations and claims of genocide; and in March 2023, Ms. Murray sent a 6-page version to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Despite having been the Executive Director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Ms. Murray oddly claimed that the TRC had characterized Indian Residential Schools as genocide, which is not true. She submitted unsupported hearsay claims of extreme violence and nefarious deeds, lurid horror stories, none of which are in the TRC and none of which have been proven in a court of law.
The purpose of the Indian Residential Schools was the equivalent of today’s “Learn to code.” A just transition to a new world. In the words of Duncan Scott of Indian Affairs at the time: “I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone…” As stated in the TRC reports, Indian Residential Schools were the choice of the Indigenous elite.
In addition to food, clothing, and shelter, many former staff said, parents sought out the residential school for the opportunities the school could offer their children. “Who came to residential schools?” asked former teacher Olive Saunders: “The elite. The councillor’s children, his family’s children, the Chief’s children.… They were wonderful kids. They were smart kids. So they were the elite … because their parents knew that someday their kids would need to be educated.” 332 James Fiori felt that residential schools constituted the only educational opportunity available to students: “I know some of the ones that I have talked to of the whole thing, if they don’t have an education, they will not have a chance. And you know, like I know the north country, you know, like there simply wasn’t anything available.”333 (pg. 535[1])
Canadians are sleepwalking into a geopolitical disaster. At the UN, China has accused Canada of genocide, banding together with a number of tyrant nations. BRICS nations now challenge G7 hegemony. Obviously, Ms. Murray sending unofficial, unvetted reports to the UN Special Rapporteur/UN Expert Mechanism has violated the explicit directive that she must not interfere with investigations. She has provided China with all the ammunition it needs to make life miserable for us on the global stage.
And now, also outside her mandate, Kimberly Murray wants people like me to face criminal charges for residential school factualism. The genocide orthodoxy is not true.
For several years I was writing/co-producing historical documentaries under the supervision of Dr. Hugh Dempsey, then curator of the Glenbow Museum. Dr. Dempsey’s wife, Pauline Gladstone, and father-in-law were both Indian Residential School graduates who did well in life. There was no talk of genocide. Gladstone’s granddaughter recalled how Senator Gladstone enjoyed reading.
As noted in Shingwauk’s Vision, an Assiniboine Chief recalled: “…Our children and grandchildren will be taught the magic art of writing. Just think for a moment what that means. Without the aid of a spoken word our children will transmit their thoughts on a piece of paper, and that talking paper may be carried to distant parts of the country and convey your thoughts to your friends. Why even the medicine men of our tribe cannot perform such miracles.”
Kimberly Murray has taken this magic art of writing and turned it into Bad Medicine for Canada.
Michelle Stirling is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists. She researched, wrote, and co-produced historical shows about Southern Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Hugh Dempsey, then curator of the Glenbow Museum.
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Thanks for reading. For more from this author read, When Family History Turns out to be Family Myth-tery
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Thanks Michelle for another articulate and informative article. We will certainly miss you when you are sent to the Big House for Denialism.
You are absolutely right, Canadians are sleep walking and our indifference and complacency is dangerous. The very existence of Kimberly Murray's position is palpable evidence of this. That she can, with veritable impunity and autonomy, viciously attack her benefactor is proof she is untethered and unsupervised by anyone. This, like so many other Liberal blunders, falls squarely on the shoulders of Justin Trudeau, who we all know affectionately as, "Mr. Dress Up". As for her mandate, she has only one, to be the winning contestant in the Canada Blame Game. To date, she is clearly a prominent rival to Murray Sinclair and Roseanne Archibald. Let us pray that the games sponsors, the Canadian Tax Payers, withdraw their unsolicited support and cancel this septic display of treachery, "ASAP".
"Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest." ~ Benjamin Franklin
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This whole Residential School controversy was a carefully created 'crisis' that was turned into a nightmare by Trudeau. Instead of engaging the authorities to investigate he lit the fuse that has exploded into what we have now. Reasonable studies like Nina Green's have been largely ignored. Obviously those who are profiting from this 'fake crisis' don't want the truth to be confirmed.
The saddest and most damaging part of all this is the GENOCIDE label that has been pinned on Canada.
This motion that was passed, unopposed, in parliament needs to be rescinded. Canada is not and never has been a genocidal nation....quite the opposite. We,so-called settlers have created a modern ,industrial country that has enormously benefitted all people who share these lands.
Unfortunately, elected officials at all levels in Canada are deathly afraid to speak out about this nonsense of 'genocide' and also about the ridiculous demands for a 'nation to nation' relationship with the Indians.
We need some leader with the courage to speak out on these issues. Until this happens Canada will become increasingly poorer and unmanageable.