Prime Minister Harper offered Canada’s aboriginal peoples an official apology for the government’s involvement in the Indian residential school system and its ongoing policy of forced assimilation.
Opposition leaders also offered their apologies during a special sitting of the House of Commons. First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders were welcomed onto the House floor to respond to the apology.
May 26 to 30, 2008 - Speculation surrounding Julie Couillard spins out of control after Couillard gave a public interview in which she revealed former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier left sensitive documents at her home.
The mainstream media, Liberal Party and Bloc Québécois speculate about a possible bug in Couillard’s mattress, possible meetings between Canada’s spy agency CSIS and the Prime Minister’s Office, and whether Couillard held a diplomatic passport.
Health Minister Tony Clement has made clear the Canadian government’s position on Insite, the safe-injection facility in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The Canadian government intends to appeal a BC court ruling that would allow the site to continue operating beyond June 30, 2008.
Insite is operating as a pilot project under a legal exemption originally granted by the previous government that allows people to carry, traffic and inject illegal drugs in the supervised facility.
The Conservative government extended the legal exemption until June 30, 2008 in order to conduct more research into the the program. Meanwhile, a British Columbia court has ruled that Canada’s current drug laws are unconstitutional when they prohibit possession and trafficking of illegal drugs by those looking for help at facilities such as Insite.
I cannot agree with Canada’s submission that an addict must feed his addiction in an unsafe environment when a safe environment that may lead to rehabilittion is the alternative.
May 26 and 27, 2008 - Maxime Bernier resigned as Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister after learning his ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard would reveal in a televised interview that he left sensitive documents at her home.