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    • Indigenous leader Phil Fontaine hopes papal apology will give him, other survivors closure

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    Half a year after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., those numbers have now grown to almost 1,400 at sites across Canada.

    Many of these schools were run by the Catholic Church, spurring calls for a formal apology from Pope Francis. But although a papal visit to Canada was planned, it was postponed just before Christmas because of the new Omicron variant and rising COVID-19 case numbers.

    The Vatican has not confirmed the Pope鈥檚 travel itinerary, or a new date for that papal meeting with Indigenous leaders from Canada. But at least one prominent delegate is still looking forward to the trip in order to close the loop on his own trauma.

    鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time coming,鈥 Phil Fontaine told 麻豆影视. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 an opportunity here for the Catholic Church to do the right thing.鈥

    Former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Fontaine was the first Indigenous leader to speak publicly about the horrid abuse he suffered at a residential school 31 years ago.

    Fontaine negotiated the Indian Residential Schools settlement agreement in 2006, which later led to the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

    He was also instrumental in the federal government鈥檚 apology issued by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008, and met then Pope Benedict in 2009 when he first went to Rome seeking an apology.

    More than a decade later, he hopes an eventual second trip to the Vatican will bring about real change.

    鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit different this time from our private audience with Benedict XVI in 2009,鈥 Fontaine told 麻豆影视.

    鈥淭here鈥檚 been considerable pressure on the apology.鈥

    The 2009 trip was more 鈥渄iscrete,鈥 he said, whereas this time around, there have been more public calls for a formal apology from the Catholic Church, coming from all corners of Canada.

    鈥淐anadians have become really shocked and alarmed with the discovery of the unmarked graves, so there鈥檚 considerably more pressure on the Catholic Church to do what is right and appropriate,鈥 he said.

    This time, 28 delegates are set to meet with Pope Francis in Rome, as opposed to the five who went in 2009.

    He added that there is pressure also for the Pope to visit Canada and deliver a public apology 鈥渙n Canadian soil in one of our First Nations communities.鈥

    During the 2009 meeting, Pope Benedict XVI expressed 鈥渟orrow鈥 for the abuse that residential school survivors faced while at the schools, but stopped short of a clear apology.

    Fontaine said that on a personal level, 鈥渙f course I would be thrilled to have an apology from the Holy Father, as I was with the statement of regret from Pope Benedict XVI, though back then I would鈥檝e preferred a full apology.鈥

    After the 2009 trip, he didn鈥檛 want to express disappointment over not receiving a full apology from Pope Benedict XVI.

    鈥淚 wanted to position myself to reassure survivors and others that the statement of regret by Benedict XVI, while not a full apology, was good for us, because there was recognition at the highest level of the Catholic Church that what we had said privately and publicly was true.

    鈥淣ow, we鈥檙e talking about an apology.鈥

    When the delegation meets with Pope Francis, Fontaine said his focus, apart from the apology, will be on 鈥渢he TRC, the 94 calls to action, and the 10 principals of reconciliation.鈥

    A big part of what makes this situation different from the one in 2009, Fontaine says, is the national outrage that exploded in response to the confirmation of unmarked graves at numerous sites across the country.

    Although Indigenous communities have been speaking about the atrocities for years, Fontaine said it seemed those voices were just finally being heard in 2021.

    鈥淲hen the Kamloops discovery was announced, we weren鈥檛 shocked by the discovery,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e had known for some time that there were a number of unmarked graves in different parts of the country.鈥

    It was non-Indigenous Canadians who seemed to wake up, he said.

    鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 a shock to us, but to Canadians, it was. Canadians were asking themselves, 鈥楬ow could this be? How could people be treated this way, in Canada?鈥欌

    That added pressure from Canadians led to questions about the government and church records related to residential schools, as well as more pressure for an apology from the Catholic Church.

    Whether there could be records on residential schools in the Vatican archives is unknown.

    Fontaine was in a residential school for a decade starting in 1951, during which he says he endured physical and sexual abuse.

    鈥淚 don鈥檛 recall anyone dying while I was there, but the older generation, like my mother and father, an aunt of ours died in the school,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know the cause other than 鈥榰nusual circumstances.鈥欌

    Fontaine is hopeful for what the meeting with Pope Francis could bring.

    鈥淚鈥檝e been really fortunate that I鈥檝e had many opportunities to be in a position to make a contribution to changes that our community believed were essential and necessary,鈥 he said.

    Despite this, he noted that there is still a long road ahead in achieving reconciliation.

    鈥淲hat would make people whole? What would make communities whole? Reconciliation, [but] what does it mean to our communities?鈥 he said. 鈥淲hat does it mean to Canadians? We have to figure this out together, cause it鈥檚 a journey that includes all Canadians.

    鈥淭his is not a responsibility or burden that rests on the shoulders of the people that lived the experience, but on all Canadians, because this is Canadian history.鈥

    Part of that will be finally ending the Indian Act, Fontaine said.

    鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have a place in our lives. It鈥檚 archaic. It鈥檚 racist. It鈥檚 the only kind of legislation in the world that is about a race of people. It just has to be repealed, [it] has to be set aside. But you can鈥檛 do that without putting something in place that is not prohibitive like the Indian Act, but is enabling legislation.鈥

    With the Omicron variant still too volatile to predict, it鈥檚 unknown exactly when the trip to the Vatican will happen and when the papal visit to Canada may occur. However, organizers are expecting sometime in spring 2022.  

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