‘Steady intent to destroy’: Genocide expert speaks at missing Indigenous children tribunal in Montreal

The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Missing Indigenous Children and Unmarked graves in Montreal entered its fourth day on Thursday.

The tribunal heard from international law expert and human rights lawyer Fannie Lafontaine, who spoke about the legal definition of genocide and its connection to Canada’s involvement in residential schools, forced and coerced sterilization and other government policies.

Lafontaine stressed that genocide is based on the intent to destroy a group and that repeated patterns of government policies over time can demonstrate this intent.

“It’s a slow moving, slow dance kind of genocide, but it shows a steady intent to destroy what makes Indigenous peoples distinct as a group,” said Lafontaine, who is also a professor of law at the Université Laval.

“The genocide convention is a few acts like murder, but also sexual violence, a transfer of children from one group to the other with the intent to destroy the group. Canada, with its policies of assimilation and its policies of destroying what constitutes the basic, the social fabric of Indigenous peoples, have committed genocide.”

More from the tribunal:

• Residential school survivors speak at tribunal in Montreal on missing Indigenous children
• International tribunal in Montreal on alleged crimes against Indigenous children begins

The legal director of Aboriginal Legal Services argues the Indian Act speaks directly to this.

“Within the Act, there’s all sorts of things that actually not only allow but create a space where genocide can occur, where they force children or relocate people,” said Christa Big Canoe.

The tribunal, organized by the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, was established to address allegations that Canada committed crimes against humanity and genocide through residential schools and other institutions.

“Unless Canada does reparations, unless they actually stop the harm that they’re doing, it allows institutions to continue, whether it’s in the hospitals, whether it’s in youth protection, whether it’s with the police, like it is ongoing,” said Na’kuset, the shelter’s executive director.

On Thursday afternoon, time was allocated for the government of Canada to respond to the tribunal, but earlier this week they confirmed that they will not be participating in the proceedings.

“I think that their absence speaks volumes, that it’s really hard for them to defend themselves, and that’s why they’re not here,” Na’kuset said.

On Friday, the judges, an international panel of human rights experts, will deliver an interim statement at the conclusion of the week-long tribunal. Their final deliberation and decision is expected Sept. 30th, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“It’s a huge determination that will contribute to making this issue visible again on the Canadian agenda and will make recommendations for reparations,” Lafontaine said. “This reparation is not just some kind of moral imperative, it’s a legal obligation.”