I believe that the Canadian government is guilty of genocide against the aboriginal people of Canada because of the residential schools, the creation of the Indian act and the enfranchisement of first nations people.
The first reason I think the Canadian government is guilty of genocide is the residential schools. The schools were government sponsored religious schools established to assimilate aboriginal children into the dominant Canadian culture. Their policy was to remove children from the influence of their families, cultures and traditions. By doing this it eliminated all aspects of aboriginal culture. The kids could only speak in English, although many didn’t know how to. They could also not practice aboriginal customs or traditions.
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The creation of the Indian act put many restrictions on aboriginal peoples. A few include: declared the pot latch ban and other traditional ceremonies illegal, denied first nations the right to vote, restricted first nations from leaving their reserve without permission, etc. the Indian act imposed government control over all first nations. Its main purpose was to control natives and assimilate them into Canadian culture. With the Indian act in place the government can control almost every aspect of their life including: Indian status, land, resources, wills, education, band administration and so on. Additionally under the Indian act, first nations people do not own their own land. They don’t enjoy the same property rights as most Canadians do. First nations live on land that is “a tract of land, the legal title which is vested in Her Majesty.” Absence of property rights is a disaster for first nations communities because it’s hard to do business when people can’t earn equity on a house or use it as collateral to borrow money. It’s hard to create a thriving community when people can’t hand down wealth to their children. It’s also hard to create economic opportunity when people can’t get mortgages without mortgage