30 JULY 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NDP MLA’S RESOLUTION ON NUTRITIONAL EXPERIMENTS PASSES UNANIMOUSLY
A Private Member’s Resolution introduced by NDP MLA for The Pas Frank Whitehead, which calls on the federal government to expand the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate nutritional experiments conducted on Aboriginal people in Manitoba and other parts of Canada, was passed unanimously today by the Legislative Assembly.
Whitehead introduced the resolution following revelations published by University of Guelph food historian Ian Mosby, who uncovered evidence that federal scientists used malnourished residents of Norway House, OCN and other Aboriginal communities as test subjects to study the effects of nutritional supplements in the 40s and 50s.
“Manitobans are rightfully shocked and saddened to learn of these experiments, but for many of us who grew up in these communities, the revelations don’t come as a surprise,” said Whitehead. “It is time for all Canadians to learn the real truth, not half of it. Healing and moving forward in a better way requires us all to know the full story of what happened in Residential Schools, including these nutritional experiments. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is best positioned to do this important work.”
The resolution calls on the federal government to expand the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to extend beyond its June 2014 expiration date. The Resolution also urges the federal government to provide any and all relevant documents on these experiments to the Commission.
“The Canadian government spent many generations, over a century, attempting to take the Indian out of the child. I don’t believe extending the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission beyond five years to fully investigate this new evidence is too much to ask,” said Eric Robinson, Minister of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs and MLA for Kewatinook. “Now that we have scratched the surface of another dark chapter in our collective history, it is our responsibility to ensure the full story is told.”
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For more information please contact Frank Whitehead, MLA for The Pas, 945-3710.
NDP Caucus
234-450 Broadway Ave
Winnipeg, MB R3C 0V8
P: (204) 945-3710 / F: (204) 948-2005