Law Commission of Canada, Restoring Dignity: Responding to Child Abuse in Canadian Institutions.

• Author: Maureira, Hugo
• Position: Book Review

Law Commission of Canada, Restoring Dignity: Responding to Child Abuse in Canadian Institutions. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2000. Pp. xvii, 455.

At the request of the minister of justice, the Law Commission of Canada produced a report with recommendations in response to the problem of child abuse in Canadian institutions. The report is intended to inform governments of the legal and social issues related to institutional child abuse. It also proposes avenues of redress and strategies for preventive action. Although written for governments, the report is useful more generally.

The report is divided into three main sections: issues, responses, and commitments. In the opening section, the commission acknowledges that most institutional staff were genuinely committed to providing a safe living and learning environment for children. It admits, however, that there were serious organizational problems with numerous institutions that facilitated instances of child abuse, as the commission was mandated to comment on those irregularities rather than to highlight accomplishments.

Although the commission originally envisioned studying physical abuse in institutions, it soon discovered from the plethora of testimonials and reports that there were other forms of child abuse, such as mental or spiritual abuse, that needed to be addressed. The report notes an especially high incidence of abuse among Aboriginal children in residential schools operated by the federal government. In the nineteenth century the schools were used to assimilate Aboriginal children. Later, in the twentieth century, they were used to promote government policy, which shifted from segregation to integration to self-determination. The commission's focus on instances of child abuse in Aboriginal community institutions does not propose acceptable solutions or initiatives that the federal government could implement. Child abuse in Aboriginal community institutions is a unique subset problem because of the special relationship that exists between Canada's Aboriginal people and the federal government. The problem of child abuse in Aboriginal community institutions is necessarily linked to the often appalling living conditions in which members of rural Aboriginal communities find themselves. Indeed, the problem of child abuse in Aboriginal community institutions needs to be addressed with issues relating to poverty and access to justice and health care.

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