Canadian Churches Mark Slave Trade Anniversary

By Kristine Greenaway

Toronto, March 26 (ENI)--Christians in Toronto have commemorated the 200th anniversary of the law abolishing the slave trade in the then British Empire, at a service in a church founded as the city's first black congregation in 1826. 
 
"If we don't remember, we can't undo the effects of slavery,"
Pastor Fred Witteveen, pastor of Friendship Community Christian Reformed Church in Toronto, told an overflow crowd at the March 25 service. It marked the start of a year-long exploration by churches of the legacy of the slave
trade and about racism today.  
 
"We must recognise that Canadian society was built on the backs of slaves and of aboriginal people," Nora McMurtry, co-chair of the Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network of the Canadian Council of Churches which sponsored the event, told Ecumenical News International. "Church leaders even owned slaves." 
 
The service was to commemorate of the 200th anniversary of the passing of the "Abolition of the Slave Trade Act" on 25 March
1807 by the British parliament.  
 
Canadians are often taught in schools about the country's role in sheltering slaves fleeing from the United States and the Caribbean. But many Canadians are said not to know that slavery was legal in Canada. 
 
In a statement, the Canadian government said that while the territory had not been directly involved in the transatlantic slave trade, slavery is reported to have existed in Canada from 1628. However, historical records indicate that it was first established by French King Louis XIV in 1689 in New France, the statement said. 
 
"This is an opportunity for people of faith to reflect on the ghastly past," Jean Augustine told the gathering. In 1993, Augustine became the first black woman to be elected to the Canadian parliament and later the first to serve as a government minister. She said, "We must acknowledge the past in order to move towards tomorrow."

  --Ecumenical News International