Bryan Brulotte: Land and slavery acknowledgements do more harm than good

Across Canada, public events increasingly begin with land acknowledgements or scripted references to colonialism, slavery or other historical wrongdoings. What began as a well-intentioned gesture of respect has hardened into a ritual of ideological obligation — often performed reflexively, detached from context and increasingly met with quiet discomfort.

It is time to cease this practice — not because our history is unimportant, or because past injustices should be forgotten, but because these formulaic declarations, imposed by policy rather than offered by conscience, no longer serve the purpose their advocates claim. In many cases, they undermine the very goals of reconciliation, civic unity and informed understanding.

History deserves truth, not recitations. Canada’s past, like that o