OTTAWA—Prime Minister Mark Carney gave his keynote address at the Liberal convention in Montreal last week. Yes, I do sleep better that he holds the role, and agree with and support many of his policies to strengthen this country against outside aggression. I also hold him to a higher standard and a higher depth of understanding. 

So … about the phrases in the speech that Canada was founded not in assimilation, but accommodation, through partnership and not domination? 

These clauses uphold the whitewashed veneer that Laurentian folks might want to believe, a safe history that doesn’t challenge anybody’s sacred sense of comfort. 

But that little white lie that Canada was built with accommodation? This ignores the facts. A word to Liberal speech writers: it would be helpful to reflect on the factual history of Canada instead of some whitewashed, fictional children’s story. 

The prime minister said these clauses while standing on the traditional territory and unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka. No treaty, no partnership here, no agreement to work together. 

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