‘We have to acknowledge the truth’: Trudeau horrified by mass grave in Kamloops, promises action

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The prime minister is promising to support searches at more former residential schools, following the discovery of the bodies of 215 Indigenous children at a site in Kamloops.

Flags are flying at half-mast Monday, as memorials across the country grow. The remains of the children, some believed to be as young as three years old, were confirmed earlier this month with the help of a ground-penetrating radar specialist.

On Monday, in his first public comments since the discovery, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians cannot hide from the blight of residential schools.

“Sadly, this is not an exception or an isolated incident … We have to acknowledge the truth. Residential schools were a reality. A tragedy that existed here, in our country. And we have to own up to it,” he said.

Trudeau says he’s horrified after hearing about the discovery in the B.C. Interior.

“These were children who deserved to be happy. Most of all, they deserved to be safe. As a dad, I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have my kids taken away from me. And as prime minister, I am appalled by the shameful policy that stole Indigenous children from their communities,” he said.

There have been calls, including one from federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, for a search of other former residential school sites.

“Two hundred and fifteen little kids whose parents never knew what happened to them,” Singh said. “The country is reeling from this loss. People are commemorating and reflecting on this loss across the country, and that is incredibly important. We all are grieving. I grieve with the Indigenous community today. Canada grieves with Indigenous people.”

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• ‘We know they didn’t go home’: B.C. residential school survivor mourns discovery of children’s remains

Asked Monday if his government would pay for a widespread search, Trudeau said money has been put aside for “initiatives around residential school cemeteries.”

“I think that is an important part of discovering the truth,” he said.

“We have committed, as a government, to be there for reconciliation but also to be there for truth and that is an important step. So yes, we will be there to work with communities on the things they need, and on the things we all need to know.”

Trudeau defended the speed at which his government is following recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, saying Indigenous communities must be allowed to work with Ottawa in how reconciliation measures are implemented.

“It is really important that as we move forward to understand, acknowledge the tragedies of the past, but mostly fix them for the future … that they be done in a way that is not a band-aid solution from Ottawa.”

The Kamloops Indian Residential School opened under Roman Catholic administration in 1890 and operated until 1969. The federal government took over the operation from the church to operate as a day school until it closed in 1978.

The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996.

To honour the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all Indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families, I have asked that the Peace Tower flag and flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 30, 2021

Trudeau says he plans to speak with federal Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, Indigenous Services Minister Mark Miller, and Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal “about the next and further things we need to do to support survivors and the community.”

Asked about what specifically needs more attention, he said “an awful lot.”

“We need to continue to close the socio-economic gaps within Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities,” Trudeau declared, adding Indigenous languages need more recognition and support.

“We need to do more to support residential school survivors and help with the healing process and go at the inter-generational trauma that exists right across the country in Indigenous communities. We need to do more on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls tragedy that continues to happen in this country … We need to continue to work on settling land claims and moving forward on self-government agreements to get out from under the colonial relic that is the Indian Act.”

Trudeau says the discovery of the remains in Kamloops is striking the hearts Canadians across the country, showing “what a horrific reality residential schools were.”

“This may not come as a tremendous surprise to many Indigenous Canadians who’ve long known the horrors and the trauma of loss of brothers and sisters and cousins and children in residential schools. But non-Indigenous Canadians may not have understood the depth of the trauma for those families, for the family members who survived — for those who came through and watched their schoolmates disappear without a trace — these are the things that Canada is waking up to this week. It’s a difficult and hard awakening, but it is one we need to take as a responsibility to move forward.”

The leader of the federal NDP is also calling on the Liberal government to stop taking Indigenous children and residential school survivors to court and is pressing for an emergency debate in the House of Commons.

“In this emergency debate, I want us to take measure of what this means. This mass grave is a painful reminder of the genocide and what we have to commit to is that in face, in light of this genocide, Canada has to make some real tough decisions about our commitment to remedying this injustice. It’s not enough to just reflect on the pain of this injustice — for the federal government, it has to be a responsibility to do something about it,” Singh added.

The deaths in Kamloops are believed to be undocumented, though the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc says there has always been “a knowing” within the community.

A national residential school crisis line is open 24 hours a day to provide support to residential school survivors and those affected: 1-866-925-4419.