Moments after Inuit from across Inuit Nunangat heard Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deliver a national apology in Iqaluit March 8 for during the tuberculosis epidemic in the mid-1900s, southern press demonstrated the very people theySA国际影视传媒檇 come to report on did not matter much in relation to the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think this is something the media should reflect on. There will always be more important stories than the stories of human rights abuses to Inuit.SA国际影视传媒� said Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed in his typically restrained, soft-spoken fashion, as he faced a half-dozen television cameras.

Trudeau, who calmly answered southern press question about the issues plaguing his cabinet, stepped aside for Obed. Meanwhile, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk had stood stoically next to Minister of Indigenous Services Seamus OSA国际影视传媒橰egan and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett as question after question surfaced about anything but colonialist agendas and the mistreatment of Inuit.

SA国际影视传媒淓very time there is something that happens, such as an apology today, there are other stories in the world. But the fact media passed right by the people whose human rights abuses were not told before the media for decades to other stories of the day is still a reflection on the work that need to happen on reconciliation,SA国际影视传媒� said Obed.

SA国际影视传媒淚nuit matter. This story matters. It is a Canadian story. I recognize there are other stories that matter, as well, but I do hope, in the future, there can be more respect given to the place and time, and the people who deserve having their story told.SA国际影视传媒�

Earlier that morning, Trudeau listed SA国际影视传媒� in front of a full house at the Frobisher InnSA国际影视传媒檚 banquet rooms, including representatives from across Inuit Nunangat and press SA国际影视传媒� the abuses visited upon Inuit by the federal government, including identifying Inuit by numbers instead of names, Inuit punished for using their language, and Inuit forced into settlements where disease ran rampant.

This occurred, said Trudeau, even as southern kids were praised for learning their ABCs and while the government was creating universal health care in the south.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd 70 years ago, while tuberculosis was raging across Canada, the government responded decisively in the south by opening new clinics and training doctors and nurses,SA国际影视传媒� said Trudeau.

SA国际影视传媒淏ut in the North, the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 approach to TB wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 to show compassion or care, but to separate families and ignore peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 rights.SA国际影视传媒�

As Trudeau detailed the egregious effects of government policy SA国际影视传媒� Inuit screened without consent, Inuit sent for months or years to the south without a word to their families, anonymous burials, the absences and silence SA国际影视传媒� Inuit in the room quietly wept.

Trudeau also listed the aftereffects: culture and language eroded, broken families, lives shattered beyond repair.

SA国际影视传媒淭hose wrongs will never fade SA国际影视传媒� Canada must carry that guilt and shame,SA国际影视传媒� said Trudeau.

SA国际影视传媒淚 canSA国际影视传媒檛 begin to imagine what it would be like to lose someone you love, and to go on never knowing what happened.SA国际影视传媒�

Obed, for his part, initiated a moment of silence for those lost, and never returned. Kotierk, who emceed the event, had the crowd celebrate those who did return, and celebrate the strength, pride and resilience of Inuit. In both cases, love was the key word, love for the lost and the living.

The Nanilavut Initiative, which has been in the works for a decade and was officially announced with the apology, is intended as a small measure of reparation. Nanilavut (letSA国际影视传媒檚 find them) includes a data base, travel funding for families who have learned where their loved ones are buried, and funding for grave markers and plaques.

The initiative will also include community-led events and memorials, as well as public education campaigns.

SA国际影视传媒淭o keep moving forward with reconciliation, as a country we must all take ownership of our history,SA国际影视传媒� said Trudeau.

Trudeau concluded his speech by saying that morningSA国际影视传媒檚 apology was also a promise.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a promise to never forget the harm that was done to Inuit, and to your families. A promise, on behalf of all Canadian, to build a brighter future. And to build it together.SA国际影视传媒�

Trudeau acknowledged  and even were not enough, and that poverty, and inadequate housing need to be addressed. Later, though, when questioned about federal funding to deal with , he was short on answers.

As it stands, Nunavut is working with $240 million over ten years to deal with a housing crisis that requires more than $1 billion SA国际影视传媒� and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 to address current needs, not future needs.