'Help bring peace': Sask. government pledges $2M to help search for residential school burial sites
The search for unmarked burial sites at residential schools is getting support from the Saskatchewan government.
The province announced Friday it will spend $2 million to “support research into undocumented deaths” at residential school sites.
The push to examine Canada’s residential school sites follows the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops.
“Part of this collective grief we feel as a society, is that there are so many questions that remain unanswered, and so many records and details that have been lost about these children who attended the schools,” said First Nations, Metis and Northern Affairs Minister Don McMorris during a virtual news conference Friday afternoon.
McMorris called on the federal government to match or surpass the funding commitment.
"It will be a challenging and emotional road for all of us, but one we must walk together because it's the right thing to do," McMorris said.
Earlier this month, the federal government announced $27 million in funding would be made available to help examine residential school sites across Canada.
The provincial funding will be provided directly to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) to help with its search efforts.
The FSIN has already outlined at least six residential school sites in Saskatchewan to search, a number the organization expects to grow.
"I want to tell each and every one of you a story of those poor little ones that we will never find. Those ones will have escaped those institutions for many, many decades and were lost in the bush, in the country and perished due to the elements," FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said during the news conference.
"We will never find those ones, but we will find some of them," Cameron said.
Rather than just purely searching the ground, Cameron said much of the money would go towards gathering information about the schools from survivors to help find out "where to start."
"During this whole journey with our survivors and the descendants, you know, their input, their guidance has gone to drive this whole process," Cameron said.
Cameron said ceremonies will also be a critical part of the process and described the former schools are "sacred."
"Some of the expectations would be that they be turned into sacred sites, Because that's what they are. These lands are sacred sites, " Cameron said.
The FSIN is still developing its plan to help Indigenous communities carry out the searches.
Cameron said he expects the process of conducting the searches and providing closure could take years.
About 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attended boarding schools, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The TRC estimates one in every 50 of the students died.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
BREAKING Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.