"There was only one perpetrator":
United Church of Canada Breaks the Silence on its Residential School Crimes

News Bulletin: Vancouver, Canada: 30 December, 2006

After years of silence by the church, a senior United Church clergyman has finally commented publicly on the issue of the deaths of aboriginal children in his church's Indian residential schools by claiming that "there was only one perpetrator" in the residential school system.

Rev. Dr. Max Warne, Minister Emeritus at St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church in Vancouver, BC, made the shocking announcement on December 24, 2006,  at a public vigil outside his church, when he was asked about the deaths of children in residential schools.

Just prior to the commencement of the morning church service, Rev. Dr. Warne stated to a group of people gathered outside the church,
"There was only one perpetrator in the residential schools; he was a caretaker." Later, when asked how one man could have caused the deaths of over 50,000 children, Warne replied angrily,
"None of those deaths happened!".

Rev. Dr. Max Werne is a lifelong member of the United Church of Canada, a senior clergyman in its British Columbia Conference, and a former pastor of many urban parishes across Canada. He has been described by United Church officials as "a respected and beloved member of our church ... a true elder".

The General Secretary of the United Church of Canada, Jim Sinclair, was immediately contacted by members of The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada for his official reaction to Rev. Dr. Warne's allegations, but as of this date, Sinclair has not replied to their phone calls and e-mails.

Rev. Dr. Warne's allegation that only one person perpetrated crimes against residential school students is the first and only public statement made by a United Church clergyman concerning the number of perpetrators in their residential schools.

Warne's astounding claim that no children actually died in the residential schools has not been refuted by any official of the United Church, despite published archival records of the Government of Canada that indicate an annual death rate of nearly fifty percent in Indian residential schools across Canada between 1907 and 1959, including within United Church-run residential schools.
(see website, below)

To contact Rev. Dr. Max Warne for further clarification of his allegations, phone him c/o St. Andrew's Wesley at 604-683-4574.

Released by the Executive, The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada
30 December, 2006
Unceded Coast Salish Territory
www.hiddenfromhistory.org