While the federal government is announcing that it will add billions to the issue of residential schools for Aboriginal people, how can we not draw a parallel with that of the orphans of Duplessis, who were in nurseries, orphanages, psychiatric hospitals? Many of these children were considered to be mentally retarded. I read Pauline Gill’s essay The children of Duplessis, recounting the life of an orphan in these establishments.
I know that, under Lucien Bouchard, there were very modest sums granted to Duplessis orphans and that legal proceedings are underway to try to correct this.
But, in my mind, the parallel is obvious between the residential schools for the Aboriginals and the orphans of Duplessis: in both cases religious congregations are involved; in both cases it was done with the blessing of a government, federal in the case of aboriginals, provincial in that of orphans.
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