More sorry excuses

Apparently the Cons are backtracking at least slightly from their insulting attempt to minimize the federal government's responsibility for residential school abuses. But they're seemingly moving instead to an utterly incoherent policy (and equally baffling explanation) as to who should apologize and under what circumstances:

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice signalled a change in course on Tuesday when he expressed support for the idea of apologizing to residential school survivors.

A Liberal motion that calls on the House of Commons to apologize for the trauma suffered by aboriginal students at residential schools was debated for much of the morning and early afternoon and Mr. Prentice said the Conservatives would support it when it comes to a vote. The non-binding motion was expected to pass with or without the government’s support, but until now the government has been resisting all calls by the opposition and aboriginal groups for an apology.

“The House should apologize and I am confident at the end of the day that the House will apologize,” he said during the debate.

But Mr. Prentice did not issue an actual apology, instead suggesting that one might flow from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that is currently being established...

He said when South Africa completed its own reconciliation commission after apartheid ended, it recommended the government apologize, and Canada’s commission might produce the same result.

But Mr. Prentice insisted that Canada’s commission must do its work first and then the government will then review its recommendations.

“My hope is that through the work of that commission, we will better understand what needs to be done. The government will look forward to receiving the recommendations of those parties of the commission after they have completed their work, and to be fair, only at that time, once the full facts are known, can the full response from the government of Canada, at the executive branch, be offered,” Mr. Prentice said.

Mr. Prentice did not say whether the government would then issue an apology if that is what is eventually recommended by the commission.

Just so we're clear:

The Cons support, and have voted for, an immediate apology from the House of Commons.

And the Cons claim to support an apology from the government as well. But they want to avoid providing it until (and unless) a commission says such an apology should be given. And even then, they won't commit to acting on a commission recommendation...although a "full response" would presumably include at least some apology, unless the Cons want to revert to their previous excuses.

Hopefully, today's shift in position will ultimately represent the Cons' appropriate abandonment of those past attempts to minimize the harms of the residential school system. But it's hard to see the new delay tactics as any more plausible or reasonable. And residential school survivors will be entirely justified in continuing to hold the Cons accountable for looking to delay an eventual apology which now looks inevitable.