Reconciliation is a very popular word these days.
Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
It comes out of the commission appointed to investigate what
happened to Indigenous people in Canada in residential schools run by the
federal government. The commission
produced a lengthy
list of actions needed to “advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.”
Leave aside the 94 specific actions the commission
recommended. There are really three key
things that must form the basis of successful reconciliation.
The first is a willingness of the people involved to
come to a mutual understanding. Explicitly,
they are going to be involved in something doesn’t just happen instantly. It will take time. The people involved in
reconciliation will need must *want* to reconcile if it is going to be
successful.
The second is a desire to find truth. That’s conveniently mentioned in the name of
the commission: truth and
reconciliation. But it is also important
for people interested in reconciliation to come with the understanding that the
truth to be found isn’t going to sit wholly on one side or the other.
Third, reconciliation is going to take
discussion. Dialogue. Communication.
On all three of those counts, events in Newfoundland and Labrador over the past few months have shown just how far we are – collectively - from starting successful reconciliation.
