Winnipeg Mayor calls for site search at former city residential school
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is calling for a search of the grounds at a former residential school in the city.
A motion put forth by Bowman to the City of Winnipeg’s executive policy committee passed unanimously Wednesday, directing the public service to prioritize searching the grounds around the former Assiniboia Indian Residential School and other sites as appropriate.
“Make no mistake about it. If other levels of government won’t act, I want to see our level of government act,” said Bowman. “To do what’s right, what’s just, and what’s respectful to residential school survivors,” said Bowman.
The motion comes in light of the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
The Assiniboia Indian Residential School, located at 615 Academy Road, is now home the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. The school – along with Wellington Park which was part of its property – was operational from 1958 to 1973.
Lionel Mason, a high school student from St. Theresa Point, lived at the former Assiniboia Indian Residential School site.
“All of us were pretty lonesome, because all of us were away from home," Mason said.
Mason said he thinks the odds of bodies being buried at the former school site in Winnipeg are low, but said he isn't certain.
He believes all school sites should be checked.
"A lot of people went missing, a lot of kids went missing," he said.
In 2016, the city created a working group to enact the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 75.
It calls on the federal government to work with provincial and community partners to develop strategies and procedures for the identification, protection and commemoration of residential school cemeteries or other sites where residential school children were buried.
Bowman said the group has been in contact with the Assiniboia Residential School Legacy Group regarding commemoration and the City Archives has conducted research into children who may have been buried at city sites. There have been no discoveries so far.
The city’s cemetery branch has also conducted reviews in St. Vital and Brookside cemeteries but no work on the grounds of the residential school has been done.
Councillor Matt Allard supported Bowman’s motion and expressed interest in expanding the search area to include the grounds of St. Boniface Industrial School.
“I think it’s incredibly important that Winnipeggers and residential school survivors know that this is something that we are working on,” said Bowman.
During the motion’s introduction at committee Bowman praised Ontario and Alberta premiers Doug Ford and Jason Kenney. Ford announced $10 million in funding Wednesday to identity, investigate and commemorate residential school burial sites in the province while Kenney is working on a multi-million-dollar package.
Manitoba has not committed money to look at all 14 known locations in this province.
“Our stance was never against putting money towards it, we’re partnering with the federal government and First Nations communities already on a couple of projects," Pallister said on Tuesday.
The motion also calls for continuing work on the TRC’s Call to Action 75. All work undertaken will be done in consultation with First Nations and other affected groups.
The report will be sent back to EPC once it is completed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
TSB concludes investigation into cause of London, Ont. freight train fire
More than two weeks after a freight train with several railcars ablaze rolled through the heart of the Forest City, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has concluded its investigation.