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Or sign-in if you have an account.Screenshot taken of the The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal's website. Source: https://permanentpe­oplestribunal.org/?la­ng=enLast week, at the Daphne art centre in Montreal, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) declared Canada guilty not only of genocide but “continuing genocide,” citing residential schools, alleged mass graves and current government policies.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorMany Canadian media outlets reported the story uncritically, treating the non-binding ruling as major news and describing the panel as being composed of “international human rights experts” — despite the fact that it consisted of only seven panellists, including a psychologist, a documentary filmmaker and an Indigenous rights activist.The coverage omitted the fact that five years after it was announced that graves had been found, no excavations have begun at any residential schools, despite millions earmarked for the work, proving that some outlets readily accept and publish the words of activist groups as unquestioned truth without providing balanced information to the public.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe PPT was founded in Italy in 1979 and is actually an NGO that describes itself as an “international opinion tribunal.” On its website, it describes its 57 sessions so far as “ensuring the participation of peoples and social movements and creating a working agenda for human and peoples’ rights at the global level.” It does not have any type of governmental, United Nations or judicial mandate. Therefore, any ruling from it is purely symbolic and non-binding.Nevertheless, the Canadian Press’s story — which was picked up by CTV, CP24, the Toronto Star and CityNews, among others — described the tribunal variously as an “international panel of human rights experts” and a “panel of seven judges” that was “mandated to look at missing and disappeared children and unmarked graves at Canada’s residential school sites.”In reality, the seven-members of the PPT’s panel for the session in Montreal, which laid this very serious claim at the feet of our country after just a week of hearings, are best described as activists rather than impartial, high-level human rights jurists, judging from their bios published on the panel’s website.Some of them, like Carlos Castresana, have law degrees and have been involved in various United Nations bodies. Others have credentials but are clearly not neutral arbiters. For example, Valmaine Toki, a Maori woman from New Zealand, is an Indigenous rights scholar, lawyer and Indigenous rights advocate.Andrew Woolford, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Manitoba, is a researcher who focuses on genocide. His upcoming book, “Genocide in Canada: A Critical Approach,” is described as an exploration of “settler colonial genocide in Canada, overcoming the limitations of the traditional genocide concept and its legal formulation and demonstrating that settler colonialism threatens the existence of Indigenous peoples.”Woolford is not a judge. Nor is he a neutral academic. And judging by his book, he had already come to a conclusion about whether Canada is guilty of committing genocide before arriving in Montreal.Others on the panel don’t have any legal experience at all. Carlos Beristain is described as a researcher with a PhD in psychology who investigates human rights violations in Latin America and has served as an “expert witness for medical and psychosocial evaluation” for human rights victims.Ellen Gabriel, a Mohawk activist from Quebec, has a bachelor of fine arts degree from Concordia University. She has no legal training and is in no way qualified to rule on genocide. Seánna Howard has been working as an associate clinical professor, teaching international human rights and Indigenous peoples, and the international human rights advocacy workshop at the University of Arizona for almost 21 years.Howard has never served as a judge, and her department’s website outlines clearly how her work revolves around Indigenous activism. It’s hard to see how she would be able to make a neutral assessment of Canada’s “continuing genocide.”Despite the lack of qualifications of the panel members and their activist backgrounds, several news outlets suggested through headlines, and by virtue of simply parroting the ruling, that they were qualified and impartial enough to make a judgment on whether Canada committed, and is still committing, genocide — a very serious crime in international law.All the panellists are, of course, entitled to their opinions, but the Canadian Press portrayed what went on as a “trial,” and their opinion as a “judgment” handed down by “judges,” making it sound like some sort of official proceeding, which it most certainly was not.The Canadian Press story also did not include any voices to present counter-arguments or the fact that no unmarked graves have actually been confirmed at any residential school. This illustrates how an unbalanced wire story can be picked up and quickly under-inform the public. Other news stories, including those produced by the CBC, Global, APTN and National Observer, were also absent of skepticism.The Globe and Mail recently came around to the fact that no human remains have been confirmed at Kamloops. How long will it take other outlets to do the same?Artur Wilczynski, a national security expert who previously served as Canada’s ambassador to Norway, criticized the panel’s ruling on X, saying: “Canada has work to do to address the ongoing systemic racism and challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in this country. I do not agree that those challenges constitute a ‘continuing genocide.’ Words have specific meaning.”Words do have meaning — especially a word as grave as “genocide.” To activists, however, it is often just a rhetorical tool, a means to an end. It is time for media outlets to recognize this and stop uncritically parroting the pronouncements of unqualified activist panels.National Post Get the latest from Terry Newman straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.