Canada teaches humanism, but does it have the moral right?
By Tural Heybatov
Recently, Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly made accusations of "ethnic cleansing" against Baku , echoing similar past statements from her country. Canada has long held a pro-Armenian stance and has never concealed this bias.
In June 2021, UN human rights experts called on Canada and the Vatican to launch investigations after the discovery of a mass grave of Indigenous children in Kamloops, British Columbia. "We urge the authorities to conduct a full investigation into the circumstances and responsibilities surrounding these deaths, including forensic examinations of the remains and identification of the missing children," stated the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The report revealed widespread human rights abuses against children raised in residential schools. UN experts found it unfathomable that Canada and the Holy See had allowed such crimes to go unanswered and without full restitution. They also recommended a similar investigation into all other residential schools for Indigenous peoples across Canada, probing allegations of torture, abuse, and calling for the prosecution of living perpetrators.
The UN's outrage stemmed from the horrifying discoveries made in May 2021 near Kamloops. A mass grave containing the remains of 215 children was found on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School, which operated from 1890 to 1978 as a "re-education" camp for Indigenous peoples. Until the late 1960s, the school was run by the Catholic Church, and afterward, by the Canadian government. Among the dead were children as young as three years old.
These residential institutions were not an isolated phenomenon in Canada. They were funded by the state but operated by religious organizations. Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families and sent to these schools to be "integrated" into Canadian society. Statistics indicate that out of the 150,000 children who attended 130 residential schools, at least 3,200 died from abuse or disease, with thousands more disappearing. The last such school in Canada only closed in 1996.
A month after the initial discovery, international media reported even more chilling findings: the remains of 1,148 children were discovered in unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools. Among these were 182 remains found at the site of the former Catholic-run St. Eugene Mission residential school and 751 children in Saskatchewan. These schools are notorious for being places where children suffered abuse, deprivation, and even medical experimentation. There is evidence that a significant number of the graves belonged to infants born of Indigenous women impregnated by Catholic priests.
These appalling discoveries shocked Canadian society. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called them "one of the darkest chapters in Canadian history." However, mere words of regret are not enough. Had these graves not been uncovered, no one would have remembered that "civilized" Canada was capable of such crimes in its colonial project, a project that persisted well into the late 20th century.
Such crimes should not go unpunished. After all, Nazi criminals were tried for the Holocaust after World War II. Yet no one has ever been held accountable for the genocide of Indigenous peoples in North America. In 2008, the Canadian government permitted the creation of a National Commission to investigate the forced assimilation of children in residential schools, which affected around 150,000 children between 1883 and 1996. The Commission acknowledged that a "cultural genocide" had occurred, though in this case, the word "cultural" could easily be omitted, as these were crimes against humanity.
The Commission also found that over 10,000 children who attended these schools remain missing. However, the Canadian government has refused to fund search efforts despite Trudeau's promises. The Vatican has also not issued any formal apology, despite numerous requests.
It is important to note that the discovery of these mass graves was due to the efforts of Indigenous organizations and leaders, not the Canadian government.
In 1969, the father of the current prime minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau , introduced a bill known as the "White Paper," which sought to equalize the rights of Indigenous peoples with the rest of the Canadian population. However, Indigenous communities rejected the proposal, fearing it would lead to another wave of forced assimilation. In 1994, the Canadian government admitted its guilt to the Indigenous peoples, but no real action followed.
Returning to Ms. Joly, one can only suggest that she focus on her own country's problems. Before lecturing others on humanism, Canada must first come to terms with its own past. Azerbaijanis have not committed crimes against humanity. On the contrary, our people have been victims of Armenian brutality. Even today, mass graves of peaceful civilians killed by Armenian occupiers are still being discovered in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. If Canada is truly a friend of Armenia, it should advise Yerevan to apologize to the Azerbaijani people.
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