I knew nothing about #EgertonRyerson , other than that Ontarians named a university after him. If the #NationalPost article gives an accurate picture, then it seems the horrible features of #ResidentialSchools were not his fault.

(On a related topic, note that #SirJohnAMacdonald wasn't responsible for starting the residential school system either; that was a #Liberal initiative, set up while Sir John A. was out of power due to the #PacificScandal .)

"Two schools were established. They would be supervised by the government, and run by the Methodists, just like most of the on-reserve schools. They differed markedly from later residential schools, however. Teaching was done by teachers trained for the regular school system, not by the clergy, and children could speak their own language. Attendance was voluntary. Religion was a subject in the curriculum, not a tool of forced conversion and assimilation."

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/opinion-egerton-ryerson-has-been-falsely-accused-of-trying-to-erase-indigenous-culture
#EgertonRyerson