By Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc in B.C. next week

Oct 15, 2021 | 10:53 AM

OTTAWA — The Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit next Monday.

The Oct. 18 trip follows his apology to Chief Rosanne Casimir for not having responded to invitations to visit on Sept. 30, the first National Day for Truth an Reconciliation.

Trudeau faced backlash for travelling to Tofino, B.C., on that day to spend some time with his family instead of appearing at any in-person events to honour residential school survivors.

He had attended an event on Parliament Hill the night before, and spoke to some residential school survivors by telephone on the actual day, but Trudeau said it was a “mistake” to travel.

The First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., announced in May that ground-penetrating radar had detected what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children in unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.

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Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan revealed a similar finding of more than 700 unmarked graves a month later, as many across the country expressed grief and anger at the news.

Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc has said it’s not interested in apologies that don’t lead to real change, and called on the federal government to provide funding to help survivors and their families heal from the trauma caused by the residential school system.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2021

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press