Canada should 'absolutely' apologize for its role in slavery: historian

As Canadians mark the abolition of slavery in most British colonies this Monday, scholars are calling on the federal government to issue an apology for Canada's role in the enslavement of Black and Indigenous people.

Aug. 1 marks Emancipation Day in Canada, the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect across the British Empire, which led to the eventual freeing of more than 800,000 enslaved Africans and their descendants.

"It symbolizes a day of reflection, a day of commemoration," Afua Cooper, principal investigator for the three-year research project into African Canadian heritage, A Black People's History of Canada, told CTV News Channel on Monday.

"We reflect on these 188 years since this act ... took effect on Aug. 1, 1834, and we reflect on the journey of Black people from then to now and the struggles that we've gone through, and also not only the struggles but the resilience of this particular community."

The House of Commons last year officially designated Aug. 1 as Emancipation Day.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a statement released on Monday, said he invites all Canadians to learn more about Canada's history of enslavement and segregation, as well as its lasting impacts.

"We must acknowledge the truths of the past and recommit day after day to combatting anti-Black hate and systemic racism in order to build a better, more inclusive Canada for all," he said.

But an apology from the federal government for its participation in slavery, Cooper said, is "absolutely" needed.

"It's something I've been asking for, for a while now, because enslavement of Africans happened in this space that we now call Canada. Black people have given their labour, their intellectual capital to this place for over 200 years," she said.

Even after enslaved people were freed, Cooper said the "ripple effect" of slavery has persisted in the form of racial segregation, such as in schools, which "greatly diminished the life opportunities for Black Canadians."

Cooper noted that the last segregated school in Canada, located in Lincolnville, N.S., didn't close until 1983.

"What was re-inscribed in the post-slavery era came from what happened in the slavery era in terms of the racial hierarchy that was built during that time," Cooper said.

With files from The Canadian Press