Easier said than done: the political discourse about indigenous-settler reconciliation in Canada

Abstract

In 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada published a detailed report on the violent history of the residential school system in Canada and recommended 94 Calls to Action (CtA) to help the Canadian government and society to redress this historical system of violence and confront their own settler colonial history. However, despite these CtAs and Prime Minister Trudeau's commitment, only a fraction has been implemented seven years later. The author explores in a critical discourse analysis the political debate surrounding the slow implementation, revealing constructive and destructive factors influencing progress. The report concludes with an imperative for key political actors to accelerate implementation, considering the urgency for Indigenous communities facing discrimination and systemic issues.