On inertia

Of all the files where the last thing anybody needed was a Con imitation of Liberal dithering, the residential school issue has to rank at the top of the list. And unfortunately, it doesn't look like the Cons plan to move forward with compensation anytime soon:

Payments outlined in a draft agreement by the Liberals last November are not expected until at least early next year, say lawyers tracking the issue.

Hopes had been raised that general compensation for about 80,000 eligible former students would be paid by the fall.

But surely the Cons at least know what's going on with the file, right? The strong answer from the office of the minister responsible:

A request for an interview with Heritage Minister Bev Oda was refused.

"I'll contact you when she has something to say," said spokeswoman Myriam Brochu.

Of course, all that really needs to be said is that there's no excuse for any federal government to continue ignoring the needs of residential school survivors...or for not having paid enough attention to the issue to have any comment worth making. And with the Cons now firmly entrenched in the "part of the problem" category, the only question left seems to be how much worse continued inattention can make matters for a group which has already suffered far too much.