(08,21,2021) Restitution, besides meaning compensation for loss, damage or injury, also includes the restoration of property to the rightful owner. For the Indigenous Peoples of Canada’s First Nation, there must also be restitution for loss of culture, tradition, language and life. The list of grievances which Canada’s Indigenous people hold against this country is far too long, the saddest being crimes against humanity. How does the Government of Canada go about making restitution to those people indigenous to this nation? Perhaps, the first step is the appointment of Canada’s new Governor General. Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General, brings much more to the table, with regard to credibility, than her predecessor. She has over forty years of service to the people of this country, indigenous et al to her credit. Now working with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she also ‘sparred’ with his father, the former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, back in the early eighties. She is no stranger to politics, always fighting for right, equality and justice. Now, she is formidably tasked with reconciling one nation within another that is guilty of genocide against its indigenous peoples! “Reconciliation is getting to know one another,” she says. It is a word often used, far too freely, by Canadian politicians, But, Mary Simon is the ‘real deal’. Being Inuk, born in Nunavik, she is expected to bridge the cultures and communities throughout this nation. I was immediately drawn to her genuineness when, in her opening address to the people of this nation, she said, “My name, in Inuktitut, is Ningiukudluk.” Then, she translated her name into English. ” It means ‘bossy little old lady’,” she said to an approving audience. Although some French Canadians are complaining about the fact that Mary Simon is not fluent in the French language, she is bilingual. Her first language is Inuktitut, a founding language of this country. It has a right to be represented on Parliament Hill just as much as French and English. If Canadians truly want reconciliation, they must be willing to accept a more linguistic diversity. The French separatists of Quebec are unwilling to accept Mary Simon on the grounds that she is not bilingual, although that fact is arguable. Still, she is willing to compromise by taking French lessons. To say that Inuktitut is not an official language of Canada is also arguable. The Inuk were here long before the French or English. How much of the indigenous land has there been seized or appropriated by the federal government as well as the provincial government of Quebec? Also, Quebec’s provincial government is equally responsible for the heinous crimes which were committed, at residential schools, against indigenous children. How far is Quebec’s provincial government willing to go in making restitution? How much land are they willing to give back to the indigenous people who, by rights, should have ownership of much of the valuable natural resources in Quebec’s far north? To reconcile means to cause to accept something not desired, and yet, to cause to become friendly again! is there a paradox here? It is possible that restitution may go a long way in settling a dispute. But, how does one nation become compatible with another nation, again, when there are those who are unwilling to be consistent? Summarily, restitution to the indigenous people, in Canada, is a step by step process. And, the first step, in the process, is to not let the separatists of Quebec have the last say. It is both hypocritical and ironic for the separatists to deny the First Nation’s right to preserve their cultures and traditions! Mary Simon is what this country needs right now! As for the land south of the border, in America, restitution comes in many forms! Former president of the United States, the P.O.T.A.S. (President of the American Supremacists), was forced to make restitution to the people who enlisted in his ‘sham’ college and, as a result, were robbed of millions of dollars. Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, achieved the restitution of funds after showing that the P.O.T.A.S.’ foundation misused those funds after misappropriating them. Also achieved was the dissolution of the P.O.T.A.S.’ foundation. And restrictions were placed on his charitable activities after he pled guilty to abuse by his foundation. The P.O.T.A.S. was ordered to pay two million dollars for illegal activity during his 2016 election campaign. After the court showed how he and his family used foundation money for personal business, political interests and campaigning, the P.O.T.A.S. pled guilty to all nineteen paragraphs of illegal activity, blaming his foundation’s board of directors which he chairs. Using the foundation as a charity, the P.O.T.A.S. collected $2.8 million in charitable grants from the public and used it for his campaign, only doling out half a million to people of his choosing. He used the remainder of the funds for buying personal items and settling legal obligations of companies which he controlled. Thankfully, his foundation is now defunct, a small restitution! Hopefully, that is not the last of it. His organization, which the P.O.T.A.S. and his kids used for illegal activity for many years, has come under scrutiny by the I.R.S. who are seeking to indict the P.O.T.A.S. on charges of conspiracy, grand larceny and multiple counts of tax fraud and falsifying business records. The indictment also includes tax evasion. This is a good beginning. But, how do you achieve restitution for the thousands of lies which the P.O.T.A.S. has told, for several years, during his campaign and during the desolating years of his administration, and those he continues to propagate today? Those lies have affected countless millions of people, and continue to fester in the minds of those who trusted him. Only now, after so many deaths by the COVID-19 virus, are some people questioning the lies which the P.O.T.A.S.’ former administration told them about the unnecessary need for masks and vaccinations. “How could I have been so blind?” asks one who believed the lies. “If only I had not listened to my Republican governor who still refuses to mandate for the safety and protection of my child!” bemoans another. “My child would be alive today!” And yet, there are those sycophants, followers of the P.O.T.A.S., who are still in power, and spouting his lies, playing by his crooked rules, in the hope that he will regain the presidency. God help us all if he does! Those same sycophants have been busy gerrymandering and producing ridiculous laws that will limit the number of democratic votes in the next election. How can you make restitution for even one vote stolen or discarded, let alone thousands or millions? If the American people crave restitution for the plague which the P.O.T.A.S.’ administration has brought to their country, they must stamp out the disease once and for all! By prohibiting republican states and their governors from changing the laws or ‘the rulebook’ to make it more advantageous for themselves, America may be able to restore some sense of democracy to its country. But, in order to do that, there must be a little give and take. Both of America’s parties must be willing to reciprocate. Similarly, as with the nations of Canada, which are now in turmoil, we could all benefit from much needed reciprocity!