Tim Thielmann

No one in this country has EVER gone into this much detail. Ever. “Schools received funding on a per capita basis. The Indian agent was required to audit the schools for student count, to verify funding. School population was audited, and missing children would be noticed”

This🧵contains empirical evidence disputing the conclusion that the remains of 215 children were found in a mass burial at Kamloops Residential School. The burden of proof lies with the Tk'emlúps Lets go🌞

Nuns and priests and brothers cared for children who came to the schools and many cases because they didn’t have care at home. They are Canada‘s heroes not villains. Shame on anyone, perpetuating, absurd lies of murdered children in mass Graves.

Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Juri Fulmer, and Caroline Elliott have each prioritized removing UNDRIP from our laws and ending the grievance-based transfer of money, land, and power. They all say they’ll stop gender transitions for minors and appreciate the need for deep economic reform. Any one of them would be a major improvement over the previous status quo under Rustad. No politician is perfect. I think Findlay demonstrates the strongest commitment to these promises. Elliott has broad appeal, which matters in a general election. And Fulmer has demonstrated charisma, a willingness to take risks, and business success to draw from, which is critical for execution. All three will be on my ballot, and I would be willing to support any one of them if elected. Milobar and Black will not be on my ballot. Milobar carries too much water for the reconciliation industry, and Black strikes me as a phony, pandering Liberal — precisely the kind of politician so many of us joined the BC Conservatives to be rid of. Whatever your ballot looks like, happy voting, everyone!

Residential schools saved thousands of lives, but the stories have been buried.

Indigenous peoples are no longer victims of colonialism, but they are victims of their own cultural continuity A thesis🧵

You’ve probably heard about the poorly ventilated and cramped living conditions in residential schools of the early 1900s, where many students succumbed to tuberculosis and other diseases. It’s one of the reasons some people blame residential schools for “killing” students. But did you know that indigenous children who weren’t able to attend residential schools actually died in far higher numbers? That’s right. Residential schools SAVED the lives of indigenous children. Thousands of them. Let’s dig in. Tuberculosis and other diseases ravaged Indigenous communities in the early 20th century, killing children at shocking rates due to poverty, overcrowding, and isolation on reserves. Tragically, kids did die in residential schools too, often from these same illnesses. Yet, data shows death rates were far lower in schools than on reserves. Why? Schools, despite their early flaws, offered better medical access: improved ventilation, nutrition, vaccinations, and later antibiotics. This care was simply unavailable in remote reserve communities. In fact, this was one key reason some parents and officials sent children there: to protect them from the deadly conditions at home. Historian Ian Gentles' Quillette article ("Not a Genocide") crunches the numbers: TB death rates in schools plummeted from ~900 per 100,000 in 1907 to under 100 by 1921—a 9x drop—while reserve rates stayed stubbornly high. By 1943, schools were ~1/3 as deadly (230 vs. 627 per 100,000 for First Nations overall); by 1953, just 1/5 (20 vs. 100). Even during the 1918-19 Spanish flu, school deaths were only ~27% of reserve rates. Using the mortality rates above, Grok estimates that attendance at residential schools likely saved 2,000–4,000 lives compared to staying on reserves. Residential schools didn't kill thousands. The evidence demonstrates the opposite. Assessed in terms of their entire history, residential schools saved the lives of thousands of indigenous children from disease.