Politics This Morning: Pope mum on apology, expresses sorrow over residential school remains after Trudeau blasts ‘silent’ Church

Good Monday morning, In his public remarks Sunday Pope Francis did not meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent call on the Catholic Church to apologize for its part in the residential school system that stripped Indigenous children from their homes and culture for decades. He did, however, express sorrow at the discovery of a mass grave of children found on the grounds of Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C., one of the largest such institutions and one that ran from 1980 to 1969. “I follow with sorrow the news that arrives from Canada about the upsetting discovery of the remains of 215 children," The Associated Press reported him saying during his customary public remarks on Sundays at noon. “I join with the Catholic church in Canada in expressing closeness to the Canadian people traumatized by the shocking news,'' Francis said. ”This sad discovery increases the awareness of the sorrows and sufferings of the past." In a Friday address, Mr. Trudeau called on the Church to apologize, invoking his own faith and calling on other Catholics to apply pressure to the religious institution. Questioned about the records the Church holds that could help find or identify many of the children missing over the years, Mr. Trudeau repeatedly put the onus back on the Church but said the government could also take stronger action. “If it is necessary we will take stronger measures but I think the pressure that we’ve seen by many Catholics like myself over the course of the past many days wondering why the Catholic Church in Canada is silent, is not stepping up, is not showing the leadership that quite frankly is supposed to be at the core of our faith of forgiveness, of responsibility, of acknowledging truth,” said Mr. Trudeau Friday, declining to get in any details about how the government could compel the Church to engage. “Now, before we have to start taking the Catholic Church to court, I’m very hopeful that religious leaders will understand that this is something that they need to participate in and not hide from.” Political insiders expect the next election to happen between August and October, according to Liberal MPs, riding association executives, pollsters, and insiders The Hill Times spoke with for today’s paper. They said the Liberals would have an opportunity between that time to convert their minority into a majority government, but if that doesn't happen, a vote may not come until 2023. Military police are questioning Canadian soldiers about what happened three years ago during a training mission in northern Iraq, the CBC reported. The soldiers, some of whom were training Iraqi police on counter-terrorism operations, are being interviewed after allegedly watching videos that showed possible war crimes by Iraqi security forces, the outlet reported. The number of misconduct investigations of border officers grew to 215 last year, up from 171 in 2019, the pandemic causing a drop-off in international travel due, also by the CBC. There’s a change in the (deputy) guard of two of the Senate’s smaller groups. Effective May 14, Senator Diane Griffin is now deputy leader of the Canadian Senators Group, supporting the 12-member group’s leader, Scott Tannas. And, Senator Pierre Dalphond is now second-in-command of the Progressive Senate Group, also made up of 12 members. The group’s leader, Senator Jane Cordy, welcomed her new colleague to the leadership team, as of June 1, and thanked the outgoing deputy leader Dennis Dawson for his work. “Senator Dalphond makes an excellent addition to our leadership team. We have been fortunate to have him ably fulfilling these duties on an interim basis and I welcome him to this new role,” she said in the statement. At 10:30 a.m. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is having a media avail ahead of the vote on the NDP's opposition day motion calling on the government to take concrete actions for reconciliation with Indigenous people. At 11 a.m., Green Party Leader Annamie Paul will address Indigenous sovereignty and Reconciliation at a news conference, and also give an opening statement on conversion therapy. There are 13 House committees meeting today, with a couple of ministers kicking off hearings for the week. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau is before the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations at 6:30 p.m., while Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is in front of the Ethics Committee earlier in the day, at 11:00 a.m., to discuss the protection of privacy and reputation on platforms such as Pornhub. At the same time, the Health Committee will continue its study of the COVID-19 pandemic, today asking questions of Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, and Dr. Matthew Tunis, executive secretary of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. The Environment Committee, at 3:30 pm., is continuing its clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-12, An Act respecting transparency and accountability in Canada's efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050 (which a Senate committee is also studying), while the Heritage Committee is at that stage with another bill at 11 a.m., to modernize the Broadcasting Act. Karen Hogan, Canada’s auditor general, is making her almost-weekly appearance before parliamentary committees, this time before the Government Operations Committee, at 3:30 p.m., to broadly address the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bloc MP Louis Plamondon is before the Trade Committee at 11 a.m. to address his private member’s bill, Bill C-216, which would bar Canada’s trade negotiators from being able to make supply management concessions in future trade talks. In Senate committees, at 5 p.m. Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly is before the Official Languages Committee, which will also hear from Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge. Another five Red Chamber committees are meeting today, including at 2 p.m. the National Security Committee to listen to Conservative MP Richard Bragdon make the case for his private member’s bill, C-228, which would establish a federal framework to reduce recidivism. The Aboriginal People’s Committee is on clause-by-clause consideration of an act to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples And, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying is meeting at 6:30 p.m. for its statutory review of the law. On Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole’s itinerary is a virtual meet-and-greet fundraising event, while Mr. Trudeau has private meetings and a 1 p.m. appointment to deliver a keynote at the St. John’s Board of Trade’s Annual Outlook Conference. Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan is also attending that virtual chat. The Hill Times

Politics This Morning: Pope mum on apology, expresses sorrow over residential school remains after Trudeau blasts ‘silent’ Church

Plus, three ministers are before parliamentary committees today, with Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault before House committees, and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly before a Red Chamber group addressing her file.

Politics This Morning: Senators to grill Rodriguez over online news bill

Politics This Morning: House to resume debate on update to environmental protections

Politics This Morning: House to resume debate on update to environmental protections

Politics This Morning: Senators to grill Rodriguez over online news bill

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Politics This Morning: Pope mum on apology, expresses sorrow over residential school remains after Trudeau blasts ‘silent’ Church

Plus, three ministers are before parliamentary committees today, with Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault before House committees, and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly before a Red Chamber group addressing her file.

Become a Political Insider