Canada: No Remains Found at Kamloops Indian Residential School

However, as Blacklock’s Reporter indicates, “despite an allocation of 7.9 million [Canadian] dollars to this end, no remains have been found,”—noting in passing that “no information has been made public on the precise manner in which the allocated funds were used.”

Pour une école libre au Québec recalls: “The announcement of the discovery of 215 children’s graves on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School by First Nations in 2021, sparked international outcry. However, despite this revelation, no bodies have been found as of today.

“The government then decided to place the Peace Tower flag at half-mast for 161 days, allocate 3.1 million dollars to a national registry of Indian residential school student deaths, and allot 238.8 million dollars to the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund, which expires in 2025.”

Hence a legitimate concern: “The lack of transparency concerning the allocation and use of funds, together with the absence of tangible progress in uncovering the truth about residential school burials, has raised concerns about accountability and the need for greater transparency in the management of the legacy of residential schools in Canada.”

On this question, let us refer to the article “Canada: Pope Francis on a ‘Penitential Pilgrimage’ (July 24-30, 2022) (2),” in which these words of Professor Jacques Rouillard, Professor Emeritus of the Department of History of the University of Montreal, appear, on the subject of the graves of children who died in large numbers from tuberculosis:

“[A]ccording to historians Jim Miller and Brian Gettler, who have focused their research on the First Nations, ‘wooden crosses were placed where the children were buried in cemeteries according to Catholic rites. They [the crosses] obviously disintegrated quickly.’”

Also, Professor Rouillard concludes, “there is no indication that the children buried in these long-forgotten cemeteries died of abuse or neglect [...] If there is any fault, it lies with the federal Department of Indian Affairs which did not provide adequate funding for residential schools, children, and cemeteries.

“According to the media, this Canadian tragedy is the result of the failure of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations, which constitutes outright anti-Catholic bigotry. This is another attempt to discredit religious faith and drive religion out of the public square. The residential schools are the tool used for this purpose.”