The federal government unveiled a reasonably sized red check mark statue on the lawn of Parliament on Tuesday, a reminder of its commitments to Indigenous people.
“Let this reasonably sized red check mark be a shining beacon,” said a glowing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Every time we do the bare minimum for Indigenous people, we can look at this statue with – maybe not pride — but certainly knowledge that we did something.”
The recent tabling of legislation to protect Indigenous languages is just one example, Trudeau told reporters because it checks off several calls to action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission yet commits little or no money to actually do anything.
A spokesperson for the federal government said the statue relied on almost no consultation with First Nations, Inuit or Metis people and cost $71-million, more than the $69-million the government currently spends on preserving Indigenous languages.
