Madam Chair, I very much appreciated my colleague's touching testimony. I would like him to know that I too feel ashamed.
In a debate like this, words matter. Earlier I asked a Liberal member a question, but she did not provide a clear answer.
The first paragraph of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission states that this policy was meant to cause indigenous peoples to cease to exist as distinct political and cultural entities. It also states that the establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as cultural genocide.
I would like to know if my colleague agrees with the first recommendation of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.