Recently, our completely distracted and effectively disengaged federal government passed the first reading of what it calls a “vital” new bill, C-254. What is this “vital” new law in the works going to do to promote reconciliation between Canadians living today? It’s an amendment to the criminal code: “to create an offence of willfully promoting hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian (their word) residential school system in Canada through statements communicated other than in private conversation”. There you have it folks, the latest Orwellian fix. It accurately describes its purpose as “creating an offence” and then uses a deceptive “bait and switch” tactic by equating the questioning of a leftist narrative to “hatred”, that dreaded category of offence so loved and abused by the government in power and its apologists in the tax-subsidized media.

Many thinkers and concerned citizens in Canada continue to ask a very important question around the issue of “unmarked graves” connected to residential schools, simply, “Where is the proof?” A sincere question is not a denial. And the topic of whether or not “unmarked graves” exist, if so, how many, and if so, what they signify, does not automatically imply the approval or condoning of the residential school system. Nor does it automatically mean that the questioner believes there were no problems or abuses at the residential schools. And it certainly does not prove that the questioner hates anybody. It simply asks for forensic evidence that the much-ballyhooed “discovery” of ground disturbances and the claim that they represent buried bodies be properly examined and the results reported to the public. That is something that the proponents of the “mass graves”, “unmarked graves” and even “murdered children” narrative have been unwilling to allow.

However, under Bill C-254 (if it passes), merely asking this question could land you in prison. It “creates” a criminal offence for questioning the validity of claims that large numbers of the bodies of indigenous children lie buried in unmarked graves at various locations across our nation. When the story first broke several years back, Canadians were horrified to hear terms like “mass graves” being used to create a narrative that there are previously unknown graveyards being discovered on lands attached to residential schools. These “secret and unmarked” graves of indigenous children were purported to be found at many of these school locations. Led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, our nation went into mourning and self-recrimination. And we waited. We waited for the substantiating evidence. While we waited, churches began to be burned and vandalized across the country . . . as if blaming Christians living today for the presumed crimes of folks who are now dead and the destruction of places where they worship could return one child or make “truth and reconciliation” more likely.

To this date, not one shred of physical evidence has yet been produced to substantiate the claim that such a holocaust ever took place on Canadian soil. Nevertheless, under Bill C-254, it will be forbidden to question publicly the unproven theories upon which government policies are now being created.

To deny the historic holocaust of the Jews, Gypsies, and handicapped during the Nazi regime has been made illegal in many countries. There can be some debate as to whether this is a wise law or not to pursue. But there is one thing that is not debatable—that this wickedness took place. Site after site, survivor after survivor, photo after photo all provide an in-depth, thorough and conclusive case for the veracity of that horror. What is lacking here in our nation is the physical evidence to even substantiate a claim that unmarked graves exist . . . and if they do, that they represent a conspiracy to commit and cover up a genocide.

This is all made the more paradoxical by the inconvenient, and undeniable truth that well over 100 churches have been burned or otherwise vandalized in apparent angry reaction to the allegations levelled against the church-operated residential schools. For the record, it should be noted that it was not the churches of Canada that created the residential school program, but rather, the government of the day that approached various established denominations and asked them to take on the role of educators of indigenous children. This aspect of residential school history is rarely brought up. We freely acknowledge that the churches—and even more importantly, the government—were operating outside of their God-ordained spheres of authority. The first and central sin or error of the residential school program was the violation of the role of parents as the primary educators of their own children. That violation still goes on today in public schools across the country where students—both indigenous and non-indigenous—are indoctrinated with a secular ideology and influenced by a variety of teachings that go against the beliefs of their parents. This would include gender ideology, godless evolutionary theory, unproven climate theories and economic socialism.

Questions about the past must be asked and must be allowed to be asked, even hard and uncomfortable ones. Difficult questions should be asked in such a way as to respect a sensitive and respectful discourse where victims may be involved. I certainly have no desire to create additional tension where much already exists. But to criminalize fair political dialogue to “protect” people from the truth is not justice—it’s tyranny.

Along with Christian Heritage Party Leader, Rod Taylor and others of sincere hearts and good will, I remain open to the revelation of new facts on this file, based on scientific evidence. The honest pursuit of such evidence is absolutely necessary, if we are ever to achieve genuine reconciliation. Bill C-254 and every attempt to criminalize honest inquiry must be rejected. Truth—after all—should be able withstand scrutiny.