In what year did the Government of Canada formally apologize to former students of residential schools?
- 1982
- 1999
- 2008
- 2015
Answer: 2008
In 2008, the federal government in Ottawa formally apologized to former residential school students. The federal government had placed many Aboriginal children in these schools from the 1800s until the 1980s.
Learn more: Residential schools
- Residential schools ran from the 1800s until the 1980s.
- Their purpose was to educate and assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Canadian culture.
- The schools were poorly funded and inflicted hardship; some students were physically abused.
- Aboriginal languages and cultural practices were mostly prohibited in the schools.
- In 2008, the federal government (Ottawa) formally apologized to former students.