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Originally Posted by para transit fellow
School boards in Quebec were organized along confessional lines, Catholic and Protestant, since before Canadian Confederation. Quebec was guaranteed a confessional public school system by the British North America Act, 1867
For example, Protestant school board of montreal (PSBGM) was around in various forms for about 150 years before it became the present secular English Montreal School Board in about 1999.
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Sorry, I should have specified that Catholic Quebecois were taught in parochial schools. The point is that the Catholic Church taking responsibility for schooling children was the norm in much of the Western world.
It's also worth noting that many Natives in Canada were, and continue to be, Catholic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redforever
I always say that it takes at least 2 or 3 subsequent generations to undo the mistakes of the first generation.
So how many generations of First Nations were exposed to the residential school system and the 60's Scoop? Yeah, it will take a long time and a lot of patience.
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Are Canada's Native communities that weren't involved in the residential school system doing better today? Not that I can see. It's worthwhile to recognize the damage caused by the residential school system. But it seems to have become regarded in recent years as the main, or even sole, reason for the collapse of Native culture and dismaying state of Native communities today. Considering the state of Native communities that weren't effected - including Native cultures all across the Americas - that assumption looks shaky.
It's tempting to look at single, identifiable causes for very bad things. Especially if you can cast it in an emotionally-satisfying narrative with a villain. Canadians are in jeopardy of giving into that temptation with what is a complex and deeply intractable issue.