By Canadian Press

Flag raised on Parliament Hill to honour residential school survivors

Aug 29, 2022 | 12:42 PM

OTTAWA — The federal government raised the Survivors’ Flag on Parliament Hill today as a way to honour Indigenous Peoples forced to attend residential schools.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was joined by Stephanie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal and survivors of residential schools from across the country.

Trudeau called residential schools a “shameful” part of Canadian history and says the Survivors’ Flag would serve as a way for Canadians to remember what happened at the government-funded, church-operated institutions over more than a century.

The flag was designed in consultation and collaboration with survivors, with each element of the design approved by the group that was consulted.

Last year, ground-penetrating radar located what are believed to be hundreds of unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools, sparking efforts to remember survivors.

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The flag will remain raised on Parliament Hill until 2024, when it will be moved to a permanent home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2022.

The Canadian Press