Untangling Mark Carney’s father’s ties to Fort Smith, N.W.T., Indian day school

April 3, 2025

It was March 1965, and Catholic educator Robert J. Carney had gone on CBC Radio to discuss his work as a federal day school principal in the Northwest Territories. Today, it’s an interview some may find jarring.  “Mr. Carney, at the teachers conference not long ago, you told about a program you have working at the Joseph B. Tyrrell (JBT) school in Fort Smith for culturally retarded children,” the host began. “First of all, would you define a culturally retarded child for me?”…