Hundreds at Catholic health network demand church apologize for residential schools

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing

Close to 500doctors, nurses and other workersfrom one of Canada's largestCatholic health-care networks have signed an open letter demanding that Toronto's archbishoptake concrete steps toward reconciliation withIndigenous peoples.

Unity Health Toronto staffare urging Cardinal Thomas Collins and the Catholic Church to release all documents related to residential schools and the "Indian hospitals" it ran throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and issue a formal apology. Signatures come from across the network's three hospitals St. Michael's, St. Joseph's and Providence.

"I don't think that there has ever been a call this loud from within a health-care institution directly to Catholic church leadership requesting action and accountability and reconciliation," said Dr. SuzanneShoush,a member of the network's First Nations advisory panel,which wrote the letter.

Shoush, who is both Black and Indigenous, saidthe solidarity from her colleagues, including some of thetop physicians in the country, is unprecedented.

• Mistreated:The legacy of segregated hospitals haunts Indigenous survivors

The call comes following last month'sdiscovery ofwhat are believed to be the unmarked burial sites of children's remains adjacent to a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

Attention soon turned to the church's role inoperating many of Canada's residential schools and its reluctance to issue a formal apologyor release records.

"The time has come to listen to the voices of these children," said Cree-MtisDr. Janet Smylie, who also sits on the advisory panel and is a Canada Research Chair in advancing health services for Indigenous people.

"Clearly there's a tension here between all of the good things organized religion, including the Catholic church, stand for love and compassion. I do hope the actions in the coming days and weeks and months are rooted in the values the church promotes, not the bureaucracy and fears around legal consequences."

Archbishop open to meeting

Collins declined to be interviewed for this story, but is open to meeting with the advisory panel, said Archdiocese of Toronto spokesperson Neil MacCarthy. He said because the archdiocese itself didnot operate residential schools, it has no records to disclose.

"The archbishop has been clear in recent interviews that most of the Catholic entities involved have shared the relevant records and that any of those who have not done so should make them available," MacCarthy said in an email Wednesday.

Smylie said to reconcile, it'simportant the Catholic church isn't in charge of deciding what documents are relevant, but rather an outside party, such as the United Nations; and to get a papal apology for the church as a whole.

"The system of residential schools and colonization of the Americas wasn't patchwork. It was systematic. The leaders of the Catholic church as a whole knew what they were doing," she said. "It's a legacy of the leadership and whole organization. That's why it's important that the current leadership apologize to make it meaningful."

WATCH|Cardinal downplays need for apology:

Canadian cardinal downplays need for papal apology over residential schools

3 years ago

Duration 4:43

WARNING: This video contains details some viewers may find distressing. Cardinal Thomas Collins downplayed the need for a papal apology for residential schools after Pope Francis did not deliver one on Sunday when talking about the preliminary findings announced by the Tk'emlps te Secwpemc First Nation that indicated the remains of what could be 215 children buried on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

'Immeasurable harm' continues

Shoush said the Catholic church must take more responsibility for its historyoftreating Indigenous people as "non-humans" who were abused and neglected inCanada's education and health-care systems.This racist sentiment wasrooted in Catholic teachings and woven into Canadian society, she said.

As a family doctor, Shoushsays she sees this "immeasurable harm" continue through generations, manifesting itself in Indigenous peoples'higher rates of chronic illnessand shorter life expectanciescompared to non-Indigenous Canadians. They're also more likely to delay seeking medical treatment and faceracism and discriminationwhen they do, said Shoush.

Personally, Shoush'sfamilyis fighting for more information about what happened to relatives who died at a Mission, B.C., residential school run by the Catholic orderthe Sisters of St. Ann.

Shoush's mother Bronwynrecently said how she'd been deniedaccess to the sisters'archives to find out what happened to seven ofher father's nine siblings. They wereall buried in the St. Mary's residential school cemetery.

"Why are they buried there? Who hurt them? What happened?" Shoush said of her great-aunts and uncles. "The fact that we can never know the answers, it's unbelievable."

CEOsupports letter

The president and CEO of Unity Health says he supports the letter and that, in a recent meeting with Collins, the cardinal expressed regret.

"I found the cardinal to be very sorrowful for what has happened and what Indigenous people are experiencing," Dr. Tim Rutledgesaid in an email to staff on Tuesday, marking Indigenous History Month.

"There is clearly a need for greater accountability and action, and I support the requests in this letter."

He encouraged staff to sign it and said Unity Health is focusing on tangible actions towardreconciliation, including supporting Indigenous-led COVID-19 vaccination efforts. It's also a time for reflection, Rutledge said.

"For many, this will include recognizing ways that the actions and silences of our ancestors, as well as our actions and silences now, as settlers, have contributed to profound harm."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.