Bank of Canada to work with Indigenous groups on reconciliation

By Julie Gordon

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada will work with Indigenous groups to understand the wounds caused by decades of discrimination and determine how reconciliation can create a more inclusive and prosperous economy for all, Governor Tiff Macklem said on Monday.

Macklem, opening a symposium on Indigenous economies, said Canadians could work to correct some of the consequences of those "ugly periods."

Ottawa forcibly removed thousands of Indigenous children from their communities and put them in residential schools in an effort to strip them of their language and culture, a practice that continues to scar families and individuals.

"The Bank of Canada will be working with a broad spectrum of Indigenous groups to set out what reconciliation means for what we do," Macklem said.

"Together, we'll define what reconciliation means for the work of the Bank of Canada — toward a more inclusive and prosperous economy for everyone," he said.

Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the residential school system "cultural genocide" in 2015, as it set out 94 "calls to action" to try to restore Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people, including economic reconciliation.

"We can't go back and change what's happened. But we can try to correct some of the consequences," said Macklem, adding that it is the central bank's job to create conditions for opportunity for all Canadians.

"Taking concrete steps toward economic reconciliation is our responsibility too. And it's incumbent upon us to take the time to do this well," said Macklem.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Dan Grebler)