The Harper Politicization And Corruption Of The Indian Residential Schools Truth And Reconciliation Commission

This is disgusting (h/t):

Chairman quits troubled residential school commission

The judge at the helm of a commission chronicling the history of Canada's residential schools resigned on Monday, citing major differences between himself and his two commissioners.

Justice Harry LaForme, who had chaired the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission since April, said in his resignation letter that the panel is "on the verge of paralysis" because his commissioners — native health expert Claudette Dumont-Smith and lawyer Jane Brewin Morley — do not share his vision or accept his authority.

He said the commissioners want to focus primarily on uncovering and documenting truth, while he also wants to have an emphasis on reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians.

LaForme, a judge with the Ontario Court of Appeal, also accused the commissioners of wanting to make decisions by majority rule, even though they were appointed to simply offer advice and assistance.

"At the heart of it is an incurable problem," LaForme said in his letter to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, which he made public in a press release.

"The two commissioners are unprepared to accept that the structure of the commission requires that the commission's course is to be charted and its objectives are to be shaped ultimately through the authority and leadership of its chair."

The crux of the problem? Harper seeking to politicize (as in everything else) this supposedly independent Commission in his pathological need to control everything - including, apparently, the truth:

"The head of a commission set up to help exorcise the demons that haunt the aboriginal survivors of Canada's residential school system is warning that federal government control over spending and administration could threaten the integrity of his mandate. In an interview, Justice Harry LaForme said political or bureaucratic interference could compromise his fledgling Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the concerns are delaying its startup.

The Ontario Court of Appeal justice said the panel cannot allow itself to be "shackled" by bureaucratic requirements, and that the commissioners, not government, must be able to decide how to spend their $58-million budget.

"It's an issue that's very important," LaForme told The Canadian Press.

"If we've got to answer for the mandate, then we've got to have control of the mandate."

LaForme said it came as "a surprise" to discover the feds had created a secretariat as a government department staffed by civil servants reporting to the minister of Indian Affairs, instead of allowing the commission to set up its own office. The government is also insisting it appoint the secretariat's executive director as part of its desire to ensure financial accountability.

"There is the potential for this friction with our independence," LaForme said.

LaForme called it imperative the panel, set up June 1 as part of a $1.9-billion class-action settlement, not be seen as an arm of government. He noted that part of its five-year task is to encourage former students and others affected by the tragic legacy to share their experiences in a culturally appropriate and safe manner."

So, thank you, Stephen Harper for corrupting what was set out to be a noble and honest exercize in illuminating the truth about what happened in those residential schools - and what I've come to call the blackest stain on our national soul and history.

Yes indeed - thank you, Mr. Prime Pathetic-Excuse-For-A-Human-Being.

And thank you, fellow Canadians, for re-electing this hypocritical, incompetent douchebag.

(However, putting disgust, sarcasm and cynicism aside for a moment, I do sincerely thank Justice LaForme for having been a sincere and honest man of his word - thus I applaud his resignation in order to expose the Harper corruption of this Commission).