Pretty simple view of history................Sir John was elected more than once and so he largely reflected the views of the Canadian population of the time. All of us must share the responsibility for the residential school system. Using the politically correct thinking of 2017 and applying it to social issues over a century ago is foolish. And by the way, if we are so smart, how are we doing sorting out the issues of indigenous people in the last 10 years? The residential school system was an attempt to help. If the people of that era wanted to eliminate the indigenous populations there were far simpler ways. The US cavalry south of the border did not build any schools. The US cavalry was the answer the US developed to the question of indigenous people.
One thing John A had a huge hand in doing was that he prevented our absorption into the US. Those elementary school teachers who voted for this hairbrained motion should check out the salaries and benefits of their counterparts in most of the USA.