They Are Destroying More Than Churches in Canada By Andrew Sansone Over the past few years, the toppling of statues commemorating controversial historical figures has become an all too common sight throughout the West. However, in Canada, this politically motivated vandalism has turned into something much more sinister in recent days, as several Catholic churches in multiple provinces have been desecrated and burned down. The church burnings are being seen as retaliation against the Catholic Church for the integral role it played in Canada’s residential school system. This system, which was responsible for the abduction and forced assimilation of indigenous children during the 19th and 20th centuries, is now at the centre of a fierce public debate about the mistreatment of First Nations peoples, after the discovery of over 1,000 unmarked children’s graves on the schools’ former grounds.