Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been shaken after the remains of more than 200 Native American children have been found on a former boarding school and has announced “concrete steps” to support the indigenous population. As a father, he couldn’t imagine “what it feels like to have my children taken away from me,” said Trudeau. “And as Prime Minister, I am shocked by the shameful policies that stole their children from indigenous communities.”
The remains of 215 children were found on the site of a former boarding school for Aboriginal children. The remains were discovered with a special sonar device, said the indigenous community Tk’emlups te Secwepemc on Thursday. The Catholic home near the small town of Kamloops in British Columbia, western Canada, was opened over a hundred years ago in order to forcibly integrate children of indigenous people into the society of European immigrants.
Trudeau announced that he would consult with the cabinet on the next steps that would need to be taken in support of surviving boarding school residents and the indigenous people. The demolition of more school tombs in Canada, as many have been calling for, is “an important step in uncovering the truth,” said Trudeau, assuring support to the indigenous communities “as we uncover the extent of this trauma.”
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