The prime minister's diaries on the residential schools - an EPF timeline side-story

Créée le Wednesday 07 February 2024

Content warning for white savior narrative, which we too find spurious.

DATE: Thurs, July 3, 1947

Dear diary,

I just got back from speaking before the public here in Fort George town. On my way home, the ghost guy, the A-director of the X Directorate in the Ministry of Intelligence pulled me over, just coming off a Canadian Pacific flight, and asked me if I knew "what the Canadians were doing to the Indians." Sensing there was something horribly wrong, I feigned that I had. I've had one or two engagements with aborigines around here and they've talked about residential schools, mostly in negative lights, although some of the Haida seem a little more sanguine about them. Is this what the A-Director meant when he said that?

I suppose I'd better investigate that. It can't be good if the most credulous man in the cabinet has a problem with it...

DATE: Sat, July 5, 1947

Dear diary,

This morning I met with the ghost guy again. He tells me that when he was scouting for sites for the X directorate, he ran across some Christian clergy. Church of England, I think. Could've been Popish. He also tells me that he managed to get a tour of the site, supposing that it might help him with a similar project elsewhere (a true Intelligence man, really), and by the end, he was hiding disgust. With tears, he related that the pupils of the school were struck across the knuckles for speaking any language other than English. I've never seen him so distraught over anything, not even when my party tried to cut his directorate's budget. I must admit I don't fully understand the reason this is so bad, but I just have to investigate. As I said, this is the first time I've really seen the ghost catcher, who tells me he sees things that are terrible and aren't real, reduced to crying.

I'll have to take a few weeks' leave. I'll let my deputy know on the Monday.