INCLUDING PAST PM'S MACDONALD, TRUDEAU SR.
& CHRETIEN***
Hannah Jackson
GLOBAL NEWS
Warning: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Warning: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons Wednesday April 21, 2021 in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Members of Parliament are taking part in an emergency take-note debate in the House of Commons, days after the remains of more than 200 Indigenous children were discovered buried beneath a former residential school in British Columbia.
Trudeau told the House of Commons that the children found in Kamloops and others who have "yet to be found in other places across the country, would have been grandparents or great-grandparents."
Video: Trudeau reflects on loss of 215 children buried at former Kamloops residential school
"They would have been Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community leaders," he continued. "They are not, and that is the fault of Canada."
Trudeau said the children should have never been separated from their families and taken to the residential schools, where they suffered “terrible loneliness" and suffered "unthinkable abuse."
Read more: Ottawa has millions still to spend on missing children and cemetery searches
On Thursday, the chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc confirmed it had found the remains of the 215 children, buried on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The remains were found using ground-penetrating radar.
Chief Rosanne Casimir called the discovery “unthinkable,” but said the presence of the remains was “a knowing” in the Tk’emlúps community.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett told the House of Commons that "we are all profoundly shaken by this horrifying discovery."
"Our thoughts are with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation as they mourn and come together to heal and support one another," she said.
Bennett said the federal government will "be there to support the Tk’emlúps and all communities across Canada affected by missing children and the legacy of residential schools and the intergenerational trauma inflicted."
She said the government is also committed to supporting survivors, their families and communities across the country to locate and "memorialize through ceremony, the children who died or went missing while attending residential schools."
Speaking during the debate, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole said the residential school system is a "dark and painful part" of Canada's history.
"Tragically, new chapters are still being added to this sad history," he said.
Read more: ‘They were monsters that did this:’ Kamloops residential school survivor speaks out
O'Toole again called on the Trudeau Liberals to follow through on a specific set of recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's (TRC) report which focus on missing children and burial information.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Members of Parliament are taking part in an emergency take-note debate in the House of Commons, days after the remains of more than 200 Indigenous children were discovered buried beneath a former residential school in British Columbia.
Trudeau told the House of Commons that the children found in Kamloops and others who have "yet to be found in other places across the country, would have been grandparents or great-grandparents."
Video: Trudeau reflects on loss of 215 children buried at former Kamloops residential school
"They would have been Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community leaders," he continued. "They are not, and that is the fault of Canada."
Trudeau said the children should have never been separated from their families and taken to the residential schools, where they suffered “terrible loneliness" and suffered "unthinkable abuse."
Read more: Ottawa has millions still to spend on missing children and cemetery searches
On Thursday, the chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc confirmed it had found the remains of the 215 children, buried on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The remains were found using ground-penetrating radar.
Chief Rosanne Casimir called the discovery “unthinkable,” but said the presence of the remains was “a knowing” in the Tk’emlúps community.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett told the House of Commons that "we are all profoundly shaken by this horrifying discovery."
"Our thoughts are with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation as they mourn and come together to heal and support one another," she said.
Bennett said the federal government will "be there to support the Tk’emlúps and all communities across Canada affected by missing children and the legacy of residential schools and the intergenerational trauma inflicted."
She said the government is also committed to supporting survivors, their families and communities across the country to locate and "memorialize through ceremony, the children who died or went missing while attending residential schools."
Speaking during the debate, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole said the residential school system is a "dark and painful part" of Canada's history.
"Tragically, new chapters are still being added to this sad history," he said.
Read more: ‘They were monsters that did this:’ Kamloops residential school survivor speaks out
O'Toole again called on the Trudeau Liberals to follow through on a specific set of recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's (TRC) report which focus on missing children and burial information.
Winnipeg MP Leah Gazan says residential schools should be ‘treated as a crime scene’
O'Toole said his party would work with the federal government to ensure the recommendations from the commission are completed.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said the uncovering of the site in Kamloops was not a surprise, but said it "opened up wounds" and is something that "requires healing," adding that the federal government has a large role to play in supporting that healing.
NDP MP Leah Gazan called for all residential school sites to be blocked off "immediately" as active crime scenes “so Indigenous nations, survivors and families can decide how they want to proceed in their search for their loved ones.”
O'Toole said his party would work with the federal government to ensure the recommendations from the commission are completed.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said the uncovering of the site in Kamloops was not a surprise, but said it "opened up wounds" and is something that "requires healing," adding that the federal government has a large role to play in supporting that healing.
NDP MP Leah Gazan called for all residential school sites to be blocked off "immediately" as active crime scenes “so Indigenous nations, survivors and families can decide how they want to proceed in their search for their loved ones.”
'It happened at every school'
In an interview with Global News on Monday, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde said the federal government must act swiftly to determine if there are other burial sites out there.
"There was over 130 residential schools in Canada, and it happened at every school."
Bellegarde said the discovery of the mass grave has made the truth undeniable.
Read more: Residential schools: What we know about their history and how many died
"You've got to get the sonar technology that's required to do the proper investigations and research and get this done sooner than later, because families need to know. Families need that healing time," Bellegarde said.
Accoridng to the TRC, at least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children passed through the residential school system in Canada.
Anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience can access a 24-hour, toll-free and confidential National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419
-With a files from Global News' Rachel Gilmore and Leslie Young
***
CHRETIEN WAS MINISTER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS UNDER TRUDEAU SENIOR
BEFORE BECOMING PM HIMSELF
SIR JOHN A MACDONALD WAS CANADA'S FIRST PM A TORY
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