Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Condemns Senate Rejection of Residential School Denialism Amendment to Bill C-9

Press Release

June 4, 2026

Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba (June 4, 2026) — The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) expresses profound disappointment following the Senate of Canada’s decision to reject an amendment to Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, that would have recognized and criminalized Indian Residential School denialism as a form of hate propaganda.

The proposed amendment was brought forward by Nunavut Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell and sought to include Residential School denialism within the protections envisioned under Canada’s new anti-hate legislation. Despite growing recognition of the harms caused by denialism, the amendment was defeated by a vote of 41 to 32.

“The Senate’s decision is deeply disappointing and sends a painful message to Survivors and their families,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. “Residential School denialism is not simply misinformation—it is a continuation of the harms inflicted upon our people. When the lived experiences of Survivors are questioned, minimized, or denied, the wounds of the past are reopened.”

At a time when Canada continues to speak of reconciliation, the refusal to include Residential School denialism within federal anti-hate legislation undermines those commitments and diminishes the lived experiences of Survivors whose truths have already been established through generations of testimony, extensive historical documentation, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the findings of the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites Associated with Indian Residential Schools.

Residential School denialism is not an academic debate. It is not a matter of differing opinions. It is the deliberate rejection of historical fact and the ongoing harm inflicted upon First Nations peoples. It retraumatizes Survivors, disrespects those children who never returned home, and fuels racism against Indigenous peoples.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs acknowledges the leadership shown by Senator Karetak-Lindell in advancing this amendment. The amendment’s defeat by a relatively narrow margin raises serious concerns, particularly given that a number of Indigenous Senators were reportedly unable to participate in the vote. While the outcome cannot be rewritten, it demonstrates that the recognition of Residential School denialism as a form of hate remains an active and unresolved issue within Canada’s institutions.

Manitoba is home to some of the largest populations of Residential School Survivors and intergenerational Survivors in Canada. Every First Nation in our territory continues to live with the impacts of these policies. For many of our citizens, the Senate’s decision will be experienced not as a procedural vote, but as a rejection of truths that Survivors have spent generations fighting to have acknowledged.

“Manitoba First Nations know these truths because we carry them every day,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “The impacts of Residential Schools did not end when the schools closed. They continue to affect our families, our communities, our languages, and our Nations. To deny that reality is to deny the experiences of generations of First Nations people.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called upon Canadians to confront the truth of residential schools. That truth is not negotiable.

Thousands of First Nations children died or disappeared within the residential school system. Generations of families were separated. Languages were suppressed. Ceremonies were outlawed. Communities continue to live with the intergenerational impacts of policies designed to erase our Nations. These facts are not subject to revision.

The Senate’s decision represents a failure of moral leadership. Canada has recognized that Holocaust denial fuels hatred and discrimination because it seeks to erase documented atrocities and the suffering of victims. First Nations ask why the denial of atrocities committed against our children is treated differently.

“Canada cannot claim to support truth and reconciliation while failing to protect the truth itself,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “If Holocaust denial is recognized as a form of hate because it seeks to erase documented atrocities and the suffering of victims, then Residential School denialism must be treated with the same seriousness. The children who never came home deserve nothing less. Survivors deserve nothing less. Future generations deserve nothing less.”

Grand Chief Wilson explicitly calls on Prime Minister Carney and the federal government to reintroduce protections against Residential School denialism and work directly with First Nations, Survivors, and First Nations organizations to advance legislative measures that explicitly address Residential School denialism and other forms of anti-Indigenous hate.

Truth is not reconciliation’s destination—it is its foundation. When Canada fails to defend the truth, it weakens the very reconciliation it claims to pursue.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs stands with Survivors, families, and future generations in affirming what our people have always known: the truth happened, our children mattered, and their stories must never be denied.

For more information, please contact:

Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email:  media@manitobachiefs.com

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