Truth and reconciliation centre says it's still waiting on residential school records
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says it is still waiting for records from the federal government related to residential schools, despite a comment from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that all federal records have been provided.
Trudeau told a gathering of Tk'emlups te Secwepemc leaders, residential school survivors and their families in Kamloops, B.C., earlier this week that "all the records in possession of the federal government have already been turned over" to the centre in Winnipeg.
He said Ottawa would look for further records, such as those held by the Catholic Church, which operated most of the 140 institutions between 1831 and 1996.
In a written statement, the national centre says it's still waiting for the federal government to provide the final versions of school narratives and supporting documents used in the assessment process for compensation claims stemming from abuse at the institutions, including the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Monday's visit to Kamloops was Trudeau's first since the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced last spring that more than 200 unmarked graves had been located at the site of the former residential institution there.
The national centre says it is also missing records from Library and Archives Canada and provincial governments, "most of whom have not yet produced vital statistics, including death certificates for children lost at schools or coroners' reports."
The centre says it's been negotiating with the government about access to records since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2015, including records to be generated from the database used in the claims resolution process.
Since the announcement by the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation in May, numerous Indigenous nations have reported locating unmarked graves at former residential schools with the same ground-penetrating radar technology used in Kamloops.
The records that have yet to be provided by the federal government are crucial for research into missing children, the national centre says, adding that they are also needed to fully document the residential school system and its ongoing effects.
"If the prime minister is telling all Canadians and Indigenous Peoples that the (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation) holds all records, it is time for that to be true," its statement says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.