Trudeau asks for flags to be lowered to honour Kamloops residential school children
Posted May 30, 2021 10:14 am.
Last Updated May 30, 2021 10:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked that flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast in honour of the lives of 215 children whose remains were found at a former residential school in Kamloops.
Trudeau says he has made the request, which will include the Peace Tower flag, to honour all Indigenous children who “never made it home”, the survivors of the school and their families.
Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia said the remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were confirmed last weekend with the help of ground-penetrating radar.
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Remains of 215 children found at former Kamloops residential school
She described the discovery as “an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”
Plans are underway to bring in forensics experts to identify and repatriate the remains of the children found buried on the site.
The Canadian flag at the B.C. legislature has already been lowered and the City of Vancouver says they will also be flying their flags at half-mast.
And mayors of communities across Ontario including Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga and Brampton have also ordered flags lowered to honour the children.
– With files from Nikitha Martins
