Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Sorry is always the hardest word ...

... but at least in one country, Australia, it's finally being said. The country's new PM, Kevin Rudd, has offered an official apology for the cultural genocide committed against Aboriginals on the continent as well as the Torres Strait Islands.

Like the disgrace committed by Canadians against the First Nations here in Canada, those afflicted in Australia were truly the stolen generations and no amount of money can compensate for the damage done. The former PM there, John Howard, said it would be wrong to say sorry because the present generation shouldn't be held responsible for the sins of the past. Rudd, however, has taken the high ground as primus inter pares. He's understood it doesn't matter when it happened, it happened and to not make amends however belatedly is just as wrong as the abuse that happened in the first place.

Rudd gets a huge thumbs up from me. If only Harper would get the courage to say "sorry" instead of "regret," he might get some respect from me for a change. It's time to implement the Kelowna Accord.

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