In 2009 a delegation of First Nations led by then chief of the national assembly Phil Fontaine, met privately with Pope Benedict. The Pope expressed his sorrow over what happened , and this should never be tolerated. After the meeting Fontaine stated that while this was no an official apology, it should serve to close the book on this issue of apologies, and people could move on. He was not the only First Nations leader to express this opinion. Did anyone in the PMO's office bother to check on this and ask around, as this was all well documented.