Reconsidering Canada is a podcast for settlers confronting the myths we grew up with. We explore Canadian history, denial, and decolonization—with truth, not neutrality, at the centre.
Frank Calder and the Nisga’a Nation challenge British Columbia's denial of Indigenous land rights, leading to a landmark Supreme Court ruling that recognizes Aboriginal title but falls short of full restitution; this is an interview.
14 Jun 2025
Unceded and Unsettled
Host Chris Bolster examines the Douglas Treaties and the Royal Proclamation of 1763, revealing how they created an illusion of consent for Crown land claims and settler occupation, challenging Crown sovereignty.
3 Jun 2025
Staring Down the State
Historian Sean Carleton and Mohawk activist Ellen Gabriel discuss the 1990 Oka Crisis and Indigenous land defense, revealing Canada's colonial foundations and the complexities of decolonization in an interview with Chris Bolster.
25 May 2025
You Didn't Settle Anything, Right?
Host Chris Bolster examines the meaning of being a settler in post-colonial Canada, exploring broken treaties and obscured truths through the lens of the Papaschase Cree and the Dominion Lands Act.
18 May 2025
The Reconciliation Industry?
When two BC MLAs dismissed Indigenous sovereignty as “unfounded” and described reconciliation as an “industry,” they weren’t just engaging in political rhetoric; they were defending colonialism. In this episode of Reconsidering Canada, host Chris Bolster unpacks the backlash, dissects the myths, and challenges the growing movement of settler denial dressed up as common sense. We examine the legal foundations of Indigenous sovereignty, revisit BC’s history of treaty refusal, and trace how colonial erasure is being reframed as inclusion. Reconciliation isn’t a scam; it’s a responsibility.
Referenced Sources & Further Reading:
Armstrong and Brodie’s May 12, 2025 Statement:
Okanagan MLA doubles down on claims about ‘reconciliation industry’ – Castanet
BC’s Colonial Legacy & Treaty Refusal:
Trutch's Refusal to Acknowledge Aboriginal Title
A History of Aboriginal Title - UBC (https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/aboriginal_title/)
Stolen Lands, Broken Promises - Union of BC Indian Chiefs
Indigenous Sovereignty in Law:
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 (https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/constitution_act_1982_section_35/)
Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia – SCC Decision (https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14246/index.do)
BC UNDRIP Legislation (DRIPA) (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples)
Health Disparities and the Toxic Drug Crisis:
First Nations Health Authority – 2023 Vital Statistics Report (https://www.fnha.ca/about/news-and-events/news/update-on-health-indicators-of-first-nations-peoples-in-bc)
First Nations and the Toxic Drug Poisoning Crisis in BC
TRC Calls to Action (https://nctr.ca/publications-and-reports/reports/)
For Further Learning:
Yellowhead Institute – Red Paper: Land Back (https://redpaper.yellowheadinstitute.org/)
First Nations Caring Society (Cindy Blackstock)
Union of BC Indian Chiefs – Sovereignty Resources (https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/online_resources)
Want to take action?
Check out the resource links above for places to donate, learn, and support Indigenous-led movements. If you found this episode meaningful, share it, discuss it, and challenge the backlash when you hear it.
9 May 2025
They Didn't Mean to Kill Them
Content Warnings:
This episode discusses residential schools, systemic neglect, child death, colonial violence, and genocide. Listener discretion is advised.
They Didn't Mean to Kill Them...
"They died of tuberculosis."
"No one meant to hurt them."
"The chiefs asked for education."
These are the phrases settlers use when confronted with the truth about residential schools. Some are rooted in confusion. Others are part of a deeper refusal to see what this system was meant to do.
In this episode of Reconsidering Canada, we dig into the emotional and political purpose of settler denial—how it explains away genocide using language that sounds reasonable. We revisit Dr. Peter Bryce’s 1907 warning about preventable deaths, unpack the UN definition of genocide, and examine how colonial violence often wears a bureaucratic mask. We also look at common deflections, including Aaron Gunn’s argument that the schools were "meant to help" and that “mistakes were made.”
We end with a reflection on what denial protects, and what it would mean to stop defending Canada—and start listening.
Resources for Further Learning:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Final Report (https://nctr.ca/publications-and-reports/reports/)
Dr. Peter H. Bryce, The Story of a National Crime (https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/first-nations-inuit-metis/a-national-crime)
Sean Carleton, Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia
Memory Politics and Canada's Colonial System - Ry Moran
Orange Shirt Day: orangeshirtday.org (https://orangeshirtday.org/)
4 May 2025
Letting Go of the Good Canadian
Canada loves to tell stories about its kindness, fairness, and moral superiority. But what happens when settlers begin to let go of those comforting myths? In this episode, we explore the enduring power of the “Good Canadian” narrative—and what gets revealed when we finally start asking who it serves.
We begin with the story of the Komagata Maru, a ship of South Asian migrants turned away by Canada in 1914, and the political movement that sought to challenge the racial borders of the British Empire. We trace how this history—and others like it—have been overshadowed by slogans, school assemblies, and carefully crafted national pride.
Through historical context, cultural critique, and personal reflection, this episode asks: if we stop clinging to the myth of the Good Canadian, what’s left? And could that be where the real work begins?
Content warning: This episode includes discussion of racism, immigration exclusion, and colonial violence.
23 Apr 2025
What We Buried: Truth, Denial, and the Settler Reckoning
Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of residential schools, colonial violence, and denialism. Listener discretion is advised.
This episode discusses the legacy of residential schools and critiques efforts to deny or distort that history. It draws on survivor testimony, historical research, and public statements. All efforts have been made to represent the facts responsibly.
In May 2021, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced the results of a ground survey near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School: 215 potential graves. The country responded with grief, memorials, and lowered flags—but soon, the backlash began. Survivors were doubted. Experts were questioned. Politicians and pundits called it an overreaction.
This episode pulls back the curtain on that backlash—and goes deeper. We explore not just the reaction to Kamloops, but the much longer history of denial that made it possible. Survivors have been telling these stories for generations. So why haven’t settlers listened?
We’ll talk about the emotional patterns of minimization, distancing, deflection—and the fear that underlies them. And we’ll reflect on what it means to move from silence to responsibility.
Featuring the voices of survivors like Evelyn Camille, this episode is a call to listen harder, to resist denial in all its forms, and to begin the real work of reckoning.
16 Apr 2025
Reconsidering Canada - Trailer
14 Apr 2025
“Was It Really That Bad?”: Residential School Denialism and the Politics of Disbelief
What happens when political candidates question the truth about Canada’s residential school system? In this episode, Chris Bolster confronts the rise of residential school denialism—fueled by figures like Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn—and explores what’s at stake when settlers reject the word “genocide.”
From soft denial to full-on revisionism, this episode unpacks how historical truth is being distorted to protect national myths, settler comfort, and political power. Featuring survivor voices and a call to moral clarity, this episode is a powerful challenge to the idea that Canada’s colonial past is just a matter of interpretation.
Content warning: This episode discusses residential school trauma, denialism, and genocide. Listener discretion is advised.
Resources for Further Learning:
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Final Report
Sean Carleton – Lessons in Legitimacy
Cindy Blackstock – First Nations Child and Family Caring Society
Orange Shirt Society – orangeshirtday.org
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