# Chiefs Seek Criminal Penalties for Residential School Denialism
First Nations chiefs are calling on the federal government to criminalize residential school denialism as hate speech. According to the chiefs, the government's failure to establish such legal measures amounts to enabling the spread of false narratives about Canada's residential school system.
The chiefs' position reflects growing concern about the denial or minimization of historical facts regarding residential schools, where Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in government-funded, church-run institutions. This push comes in the context of ongoing efforts to commemorate and educate the public about the residential school system's documented harms and legacy.
The chiefs argue that criminalizing denialism would send a clear message that such speech will not be tolerated and would provide a legal framework to address what they characterize as hate speech targeting Indigenous peoples. Their call represents an attempt to use criminal law as a tool to protect against revisionism of a significant chapter in Canadian history that has been extensively documented through survivor testimonies, institutional records, and official inquiries.
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