During his time as Prime Minister, Stephen Harper has made two major apologies: one to Chinese Canadians, and the other to Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. The first was for a “Head Tax” levied against Chinese people entering Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The second was for the residential schools – a former government policy of assimilation of Aboriginals through boarding schools. Both of these policies created legacies of pain, anger and alienation.

Researching apologies keeps psychologist and Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being Advisory Committee Member Kimberly Matheson busy. She collaborates with program member Nyla Branscombe, her Carleton University colleagues Hymie Anisman and Michael Wohl, and an Aboriginal graduate student named Amy Bombay. They are studying the emotional impacts of these apologies.

“These two apologies have very different contexts. While both are examples of collective discrimination and historical injustice, the situations of the Aboriginal community are very different than those of the Chinese immigrant community,” Dr. Matheson explains.