Content warning: The following story contains details of residential schools. The Indian Residential School Survivor Society maintains a hotline for residential school survivors who are in crisis. The 24-hour a day crisis line can be reached at 1-800-721-0066.

Georgina Lazore explains that people must not be so quick to jump to reconciliation when there are still “lots of truths out there that still have to be told and learned.” Moreover, accountability must be taken for those truths. Lazore explains that the federal government, the Catholic Church, and the monarchy have much to own up to before any reconciliation is made. 

This is a clip from rabble’s most recent live politics panel. ‘Off the Hill: What does reconciliACTION look like’ featured guests MP Leah Gazan, Georgina Lazore, and Breanne Lavallée-Heckert. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.

Georgina Lazore is from Ts’kw’alaxw First Nations which is located in the cusp of Secwepemc (Shuswap) territory and the St’at’imc (Lillooet). She currently resides in Cornwall, Ontario with her husband, five children, and eight grandchildren. Lazore works as a respite counselor, and was recently elected to hold a seat on the board of directors for the local Children’s Aid Society in Cornwall. She is the first generation of five that did not attend residential schools.

Off the Hill is a live panel unpacking current issues of national significance that features guests and discussions you won’t find anywhere else. To support Off the Hill’s mission of mobilizing individuals to create progressive change in national politics — on and off Parliament Hill — visit rabble.ca/donate.

Reconciliation for residential schools

Related content: In July, Pope Francis visited Canada and acknowledged and recognized residential schools as genocide. Stephen Wentzell wonders, what’s stopping Canada’s House of Commons from doing the same? Read more here.