Residential Schools as Catchments for 'Neglected' Children

The departments deflection of blame onto parents rather than government and departmental policies/actions as the root cause of neglect demonstrates the perpetual colonial belief of western superiority in education and parenting. In fact, it was not poor parenting that resulted in the neglect and poor health of Indigenous children, rather it was the government's genocidal and destructive policies that created conditions wherein children experienced neglect. Residential schools disrupted parenting while also instilling harmful beliefs in Indigenous children about themselves and their cultures, subjected them to various and extreme forms of abuse which mentally and physically impacted children, their parents, and communities, and were responsible for undermining Indigenous teachings, knowledge, and concepts of well-being integral to the meaningful upbringing of children. By denying access to resources, land, and traditional subsistence patterns, stripping rights to cultural practices/freedom, and enforcing residential schooling the government manifested an environment where Indigenous children were unprotected. To insinuate that neglect "was not a product of economic circumstances but of parental moral shortcomings" denies all responsibility that the Government of Canada had in creating economic and social inequities, and the deterioration of wellbeing in Indigenous children. 

The government of Canada was also responsible for developing inequitable and racist policies which served to bolster the success and support of Settler Colonists while intentionally underserving and criminalizing Indigenous peoples. Wealth and housing inequities are cumulative effects of Colonialism.