AWAN thinks it's really important that all apologies are backed up with redress. We think apologies should be backed up with action.
I'm sorry, but with the apologies by Canada to aboriginal people for residential schools, the murders of children, land theft, cultural genocide and intended genocide, and white supremacy, all of these things, we must have redress. Apologies and restitution are not enough. It's shameful and humiliating. What we want is the restoration of our rightful places in our homelands. We see billions of dollars on a weekly basis that cross the borders of this country that belong to aboriginal women and children.
We want our rights restored, and we want to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. We want everyone sitting at this table to look at what they are accountable for. Have they lived up to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?