London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Justin Trudeau Vows "Concrete Action" After Mass Indigenous Student Grave Found In Canada

Justin Trudeau Vows "Concrete Action" After Mass Indigenous Student Grave Found In Canada

"As prime minister, I am appalled by the shameful policy that stole indigenous children from their communities," Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday expressed Canada's grief while pledging "concrete action" in support of indigenous communities after remains of 215 indigenous children were discovered at an old boarding school.

"As a dad, I can't imagine what it would feel like to have my kids taken away from me," Trudeau told a news conference. "And as prime minister, I am appalled by the shameful policy that stole indigenous children from their communities."

"Think of their communities that never saw them again. Think of their hopes, their dreams, their potential, of all they would have accomplished, all they would have become," he said. "All of that was taken away."

Trudeau, who has made reconciliation with Canada's nearly 1.7 million indigenous people a priority of his government since coming to power in 2015, said he would speak with his ministers to shore up "next and further things we need to do to support (residential school) survivors and the community."

Excavating school burial sites across Canada, as many have urged, he also said, "is an important part of discovering the truth."

"Canada will be there to support indigenous communities as we discover the extent of this trauma and trying to give opportunities for families and communities to heal."

The Tk'emlups te Secwepemc tribe said last week it had used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the remains of the students who attended a school near Kamloops, British Columbia.

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was the largest of 139 boarding schools set up in the late 19th century to assimilate Canada's indigenous peoples, with up to 500 students registered and attending at any one time.

It was operated by the Catholic church on behalf of the Canadian government from 1890 to 1969, before Ottawa took over its administration and closed it a decade later.

Official records showed only 50 deaths at the school, where a principal once pleaded for more funds to properly feed students.

- Children shoes tiny tributes -


As the nation mourned, flags atop government buildings were lowered to half-mast over the weekend.

Row upon row of children's shoes were left in front of parliament in Ottawa and on steps outside government offices and churches in several cities, forming makeshift memorials.

About 100 people, several in ceremonial attire, also marched Sunday in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal.

National chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde was quoted by the Globe and Mail as saying former students and families "deserve to know the truth."

"A thorough investigation into all former residential school sites could lead to more truths of the genocide against our people," he added.

The British Columbia coroner is helping the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc tribe establish the causes and timings of the student deaths in Kamloops.

On Monday, opposition parties asked for -- and Trudeau agreed to -- an emergency debate in parliament on the "heart-breaking" discovery.

Some 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Metis youngsters in total were forcibly enrolled in these schools, where students were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language.

Today those experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in indigenous communities.

A truth and reconciliation commission has identified the names of, or information about, at least 4,100 children who died from abuse or neglect while attending a residential school. It estimates the actual toll is much higher.

The commission concluded in a 2015 report that more than a century of abuses at the schools amounted to "cultural genocide."

Seven years earlier, Ottawa had formally apologized as part of a Can$1.9 billion (US$1.5 billion) settlement with former students.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, meanwhile, set up an online registry with the names of the thousands of children who never came home from the boarding schools, along with old class photos.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×