A nice gift to offer to our friends:  Window of Hope…and Reconciliation

“The Québécois have a sense of tradition that is unique in North America, to a degree that is difficult for their English-speaking neighbours to understand or appreciate.  400 years of Canadian History – Quebec, a grown up orphan, living in Canada, a hurting blended family. Why are French, Native and English people are still fighting with each other after 4 centuries? The book answers this question, so crucial for our time.” 

 From this moment (1988), I felt prompted to answer this question: “Why French, Native, English are still fighting with each other?” God led me to research, give conferences and write a book called "Window of Hope... and Reconciliation" published August, 2008 ( www.ccquebec.org ). It’s a survey of 400 years of Canadian history observed from a biblical window. It’s a revealing story about Quebec, a grown up orphan, living in Canada, a hurting blended family. It brings understanding about the heritage of ongoing broken and unresolved relationships between French, Natives, and English (and now with immigrants). It provides key insights about obstacles to faith in Quebec as well as in Canada.

From the little boy who was street fighting with English people, God transformed my life and made me speak and promote the Gospel of Reconciliation across the country of Canada for His Glory (2 Corinthian 5: 15-20).

For Christmas group price, contact Donald at  donald.gingras@videotron.ca or (514) 353-1131                                         

and Reconciliation

           If the Québécois have been an orphan foster child in the blended Canadian family, and if Reconciliation is crucial for the recovery of the blended family, then the question arises, “What does this make the First Nations, Inuit and Métis people who live in Canada?” Certainly they are a child or children in the blended Canadian family. Perhaps they could be viewed as foster children with only Earth for their natural mother, but through her, they have a prior claim on the orphanage facility itself—one that none of the other Europe-based children have. If this comparison is true, the new parent (Mother England) can be imagined moving into the orphanage to displace the (Ab)original parent. The new parent begins to foster the Québécois nation people and the First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, as well as her own natural children; it turns out she has a complex family to manage.

          While we may be tempted to say more on behalf of the Native people—and certainly many areas of broken relationship between them and the French and English-speaking members of the family have been documented—it is more appropriate that we listen to their own spokespersons and hear their own analysis of a pathway forward. The themes of lands and treaty rights, attempts to wipe out or assimilate their people and culture, separation of and from them by the settlers from the founding European peoples, various forms of abuse inflicted on them, and governmental and other crimes, ineptitude and injustice in dealing with Native people as groups, families and individuals all figure into a tragic story that only they have the right to tell to their victimizers and the world.

           Given the theme of this book on Reconciliation, however, it may be appropriate to note that the chosen means of dealing with the very specific government religious residential schools “chapter” in the First Nations relationship with other Canadian people is known as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As this book is being finalized early in 2008, the commission is getting underway as an attempt at justice and healing. From its name one can infer that, as in Quebec’s case, the story must first be truthfully exposed (this is in process, though many interference plays are still being run). Only after success in the truth phase might some processes leading to genuine reconciliation be initiated; hopefully these could open up into a transforming relational healing needed by the hurting blended family of Canada. Perhaps the big question is, “Will Canada be capable of walking the length of the Truth and Reconciliation trail in good faith?”

          There are moves toward reconciliation with other First People worldwide. Both South Africa and Australia have made some progress.

          Not all people interested in Reconciliation in this context see it in the essentially Christian terms of contrition and forgiveness. A more comprehensive approach might define it as taking mutually acceptable steps to move from antagonism to respect and trust. It is difficult to see how this can be done without acknowledging wrongdoing and then apologizing meaningfully enough so that it can be accepted and form a basis for a new relationship. To make it sufficiently transformative, a process of restorative justice may be needed, and some form of restitution may be part of that. At this point, if we want to go ahead with a genuine commitment to allow pertinent and lasting changes, it becomes evident that Reconciliation can be costly to both victim and perpetrator as a comprehensive transforming transaction is negotiated and effected.

         - Donald Gingras, Window of Hope...and Reconciliaiton, Appendix 1, p. 241.