The Daily UbuntuThread 05 · War and Reconciliation · September 25, 2026
The day Quebec apologized
After the Viens Commission, the Premier of Quebec apologized to First Nations and Inuit in 2019. The real work was just beginning.
1 · The scene
Tuesday afternoon, at a CLSC in Montreal. A man who has come from his Atikamekw community holds a letter he doesn't understand. The receptionist was about to tell him to come back tomorrow.
She stops. She pulls out a chair, takes the time to read it with him, calls a worker who knows his region. Twenty more minutes in her day. As he leaves, he shakes her hand for a long time. She tells herself she could, so easily, have not seen him.
Original vignette
2 · The documented case
The Viens Commission and the Quebec state's apology
In December 2016, following testimony from Indigenous women in Val-d'Or who reported police abuse, the Government of Quebec created the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services. It was entrusted to former judge Jacques Viens.
On September 30, 2019, the commission tabled its report. It recognized systemic discrimination against First Nations and Inuit in public services, with effects on health, justice, housing and family life. It made 142 recommendations, presented as calls to action.
Two days later, on October 2, 2019, Premier François Legault rose in the National Assembly. He offered the First Nations and Inuit of Quebec the apology of the entire Quebec state. He added that apologies are only one thing and that the work now was to find solutions with the communities.
Indigenous leaders saw it as a first step, while calling for action. That is where the hope lies: when a state names its wrongs, it makes a commitment in front of everyone. And every public service, every counter, becomes a place where reconciliation can be lived concretely.
3 · The voice
“The Quebec state failed in its duty.”
4 · The question
In your workplace, what small change could make every person feel truly welcomed?
Sources
- Radio-Canada, "Communautés autochtones : « L'État québécois a manqué à son devoir », admet Legault," 2019 (in French). ici.radio-canada.ca
- Radio-Canada, "Après les excuses du Québec, les Autochtones espèrent des actions," 2019 (in French). ici.radio-canada.ca
- Radio Canada International, "Après les excuses du premier ministre du Québec, les Autochtones veulent des actes," October 17, 2019 (in French). www.rcinet.ca
- Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, "Commission Viens : un appel à combattre la discrimination systémique," September 30, 2019 (in French). www.cdpdj.qc.ca
Every figure on this page links to a verifiable public source.
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