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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.