Dear Media – RE: Indigenous Residential School Genocide, “none of the allegations have been proven in court.” Signed, Canada
Stop the Media Blood Libel
Dear Media – RE: Indigenous Residential School Genocide, “none of the allegations have been proven in court.” Signed, Canada
By Michelle Stirling © 2025
Alessia Passafiume of Canadian Press violates their own journalistic standards in the latest item on claims of residential school genocide. She quotes various parties claiming that Conservative Party Candidate, Aaron Gunn, is a so-called ‘residential school denialist’ and that he was misinforming the public when he tweeted, some years ago, that “There was no genocide…” in respect to Indian Residential Schools.
According to Canadian Press Journalistic Standards:
Although our role continues to evolve, the principles that guide our work are unchanged. Everything that we do must be honest, unbiased and unflinchingly fair. We deal with facts that are demonstrable, supported by sources that are reliable and responsible. We pursue with equal vigour all sides of a story.
Accuracy is fundamental. Discovery of a mistake calls for immediate correction. Corrections to stories already published or broadcast must not be grudging or stingy. They must be written in a spirit of genuinely wanting to right a wrong in the fairest and fullest manner.
The fact is, that no one has been charged or convicted of genocide related to Indian Residential Schools in Canada. That the Canadian Press editorial staff allow these egregious accusations to be published without noting that “None of the allegations of genocide have been proven in court” is unacceptable and violates their own standards.
Passafiume’s quoting of Stephanie Scott’s blood libel against Canada and her totalitarian demands only makes things worse!
Stephanie Scott of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation makes criminally defamatory remarks against Canada in Passafiume’s story.
Stephanie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, said in a media statement that residential school denialism has a real impact on survivors and their communities.
"We say it often: words matter," Scott wrote.
"All people, especially those seeking or holding positions of authority, must acknowledge the genocide and commit to factual research, rather than spreading harmful misinformation and perpetuating lies."
It is Canadian Press, Stephanie Scott and Alessia Passafiume who are spreading misinformation and perpetuating lies. This is a phantom genocide that has never been proven in court.
Passafiume repeats debunked tropes like:
“More than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools…”
Historian J.R. Miller’s criticism of the Truth and Reconciliation Reports included the fact that: ‘At no time in the history of residential schooling in Canada were parents “compelled to send their children to residential schools.”’ J. R. Miller
Passafiume continues with more unproven statements:
“An estimated 6,000 children died in the schools, though experts say the actual number could be much higher.”
In fact, the TRC found that 423 children died ‘in the schools.’
There are names and death certificates for most of these 423 students who died ‘in the schools.’ By contrast, there is no list of names of 6,000 missing children who allegedly ‘died in the schools.’
The Memorial Banner and list at the NCTR are rife with the names of people whose death certificates show that their passing, sad as it was for the families, had nothing to do with Indian Residential Schools.
Passafiume mentions certain ‘experts’ who say the number of deaths could be ‘much higher’ but does not state who these experts are, or what their proof of such claims is.
The TRC and NCTR in their memorial registers and lists have intentionally included names of people who died within a year of school enrollment, who died at home from a house fire, gunshot wound, train or car accident. None of these deaths had anything to do with Indian Residential Schools.
So, who is misinforming and misleading the public? Canadian Press, Alessia Passafiume, and Stephanie Scott …who is ironically the Executive Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Look at this totalitarian approach to history in this quote by Stephanie Scott.
“All people, …must acknowledge the genocide and commit to factual research.”
Genocide is a heinous crime. One that must be proven in court with evidence, not fatuous claims.
As I have written elsewhere, in reference to Ronald Niezen’s work, “Truth and Indignation”…
“…Niezen makes about the actual Holocaust genocide convictions versus the TRC process. He points out that the genocide finding of the Jewish Holocaust by Nazis was based strictly on material evidence at the Nuremberg Trials. He writes that though the Nuremberg Trials were “not a truth commission as we know it…the prosecutors explicitly wanted to avoid testimony from victims of the Holocaust and to prosecute Nazi officials solely on the basis of the material evidence, which they had in abundance.” (pg. 167)
Canada’s TRC process was the opposite, primarily based on victim statements of the aggrieved, with positive statements of former students and staff intentionally excluded. Evidence was thus cherry-picked to support a ‘cultural’ genocide claim, which quickly morphed into accusations of an actual physical genocide by activist academics like Andrew Woolford and Sean Carleton of the University of Manitoba, NDP MP Leah Gazan, several Senators, Kimberly Murray, and most journalists.
There has never been anyone in Canada charged or convicted of genocide. It is irresponsible, morally reprehensible, and defamatory for the media or other individuals to continue to claim that a genocide occurred in or was caused by Canadian Indian Residential Schools.
Canada and all Canadians are innocent until proven guilty.
What has been proven over the past several years is that for the mainstream media, facts don’t matter, and though they might add ‘allegations have not been proven in court’ for accusations about an individual, they are unwilling to do the same for stories that condemn their own country, Canada, and its taxpaying citizens, of the most heinous crime.
For that they are happy to propagate lurid and unproven claims of infanticide and genocide.
This media blood libel is a crime.
Will Canadian Press meet its own journalistic standards?
These ones.
According to Canadian Press Journalistic Standards:
Although our role continues to evolve, the principles that guide our work are unchanged. Everything that we do must be honest, unbiased and unflinchingly fair. We deal with facts that are demonstrable, supported by sources that are reliable and responsible. We pursue with equal vigour all sides of a story.
Accuracy is fundamental. Discovery of a mistake calls for immediate correction. Corrections to stories already published or broadcast must not be grudging or stingy. They must be written in a spirit of genuinely wanting to right a wrong in the fairest and fullest manner.
The fact is, that no one has been charged or convicted of genocide related to Indian Residential Schools in Canada.
-30-
Excellent. The Canadian media is out of control.
Grifters gonna grift. It's become Canada's National industry. And we like it. That's why we vote for it. Over and over.