Yumimi Pang
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 16, 2008

OTTAWA - Peter Irniq stood on the floor of the House of Commons on June 11 and felt the anger fade away.

"I cried for 50 years for pain, because of pain for my parents. Today I'm crying for joy," he said.

The former Commissioner of Nunavut was present for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's historic apology to former students of Indian residential schools.

"When I heard the words from the prime minister yesterday and the other political leaders . . . who say I'm sorry for what we have done to your parents and to yourselves as survivors of sex abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, loss of parenting skills, I felt like I was somebody finally. I felt that I was a full-fledged Canadian, not just an honorary Canadian. I can now leave my anger behind," said Irniq.

Irniq is a survivor of sexual, physical and mental abuse in the residential school system.

In his first month in Chesterfield Inlet's Turquetil Hall, he was hit with a yardstick for speaking Inuktitut with another pupil, despite the fact that he could not yet speak English.

"Pupils at the time were often humiliated by our teachers for speaking in Inuktitut," he said.

In Harper's apology, Irniq said, "He said, 'we are sorry' in Inuktitut."

Irniq said throughout the day on June 11, he caught himself being transported to when he was a young boy in residential school.

"Finally with the apology I have become an adult, a Canadian. I am no longer intimidated by the Canadian government, the RCMP, the Roman Catholic Church. . . . Here we are establishing a new relationship," said Irniq. "It's the apology I had been waiting to hear for many, many years now."

Although the apology is an important step, Irniq said there is still much to be done including continued funding for healing services for Inuit and other services including housing.

The Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission will also be an important step in relating individual stories.

"This is not the end. This is just the beginning of a lot of work that we're going to be doing," said Irniq.

One issue on Irniq's work list is trying to secure Inuit representation on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which currently consists of its chair, Justice Harry LaForme, a member of the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation, and two commissioners, Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Morley.

Irniq has written the prime minister and spoken with Justice LaForme in hopes of adding an Inuk to the commission.