[Flashpoint]

This is exactly why the Japanese shouldn't apologize for starving all those POW's in WWII. Or the Butahn death march.

Pretty soon all those vets will be dead, so it won't matter right? No apology necessary.

I am going to utter a platitude here, but I think in context it is pretty important - "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it". To a limited extent you can see it in how the Muslim community in the US is generally viewed through the same optic of mistrust as the Japanese in World War II.

By attempting to make amends for past transgressions, we not only acknowledge the mistakes of the past, we also keep them at the forefront of our consciousness. It would be easier to just forget and say "let bygones be bygones", but the past is full of lessons that we need to learn from - even several generations removed.

Look at interracial marriage vs gay marriage. The lesson there is that two adults under the law have the right to self determination. Look at segregated schools in the south in the 1960's - the majority isn't always right in a democracy.

Looking into our history and saying "we abused the indigenous people of Canada" has a lot more impact when you follow it with "and here is what we are going to do to make up for it".