AFN urges Canada to criminalize residential school denialism

The Assembly of First Nations is calling on the Canadian government to classify Indian residential school denialism as hate speech, citing harm to survivors and families, according to ICT. The AFN passed a resolution at a special assembly in December urging the government to criminalize the rhetoric. “Denialism is deliberate harm,” Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias told the assembly, saying organized campaigns seek to erase the truth of residential schools and unmarked graves, retraumatizing survivors and undermining healing.

Laura Arndt of the Survivors Secretariat said denialism retraumatizes families and minimizes documented history. Stephanie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, said denialism is not legitimate debate but a rejection of well-documented facts and lived experiences supported by archival records and nearly 7,000 survivor statements collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Scott said denialism perpetuates racism and misinformation and supports discussion of legal and policy measures to address it.