Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak as a westerner for a few moments about Louis Riel.
A lot of people do not realize that Louis Riel was born in the west and spent most of his life in the west and that he was a staunch federalist, which makes me wonder to some extent why members
of the separatist party in the House are taking this opportunity to press their motion.
He was not a violent man but was caught up in the whirlwind of events that were beyond his control. Actually he partially controlled them. Had it not been for Louis Riel's influence on Gabriel Dumont, there would have been a lot more deaths in the north-west rebellion. It was Riel who restrained Dumont from using guerrilla tactics against Middleton's troops. On that basis alone, the man should have been shown more mercy and compassion when he was tried.
There is no question that the trial was unfair. However that was 110 years ago. I do not believe that any good purpose is served by this attempt to fudge over one of the darker episodes of our history. It happened. It is over. I would take this same attitude to any historical event. It serves no purpose. It does not help Louis Riel in any way for us to stand in this House and say he was not guilty. The deed was done. History is history. I think there are other things that this House could attend to.