Government of Canada supports Indigenous communities across the country to address the ongoing legacy of residential schools

From: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

News release

May 17, 2022 — Ottawa, traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation, Ontario — Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

As we approach the one year anniversary of the tragic locating of unmarked burials at the former Kamloops Residential School, we acknowledge our country’s inherited past and the shameful legacy that comes with it.

On May 16, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations; the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services; the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage; the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada; the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety; and the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency; provided an update on the Government of Canada’s actions to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis-led, Survivor-centric and culturally informed initiatives helping Indigenous communities respond to, and heal from the ongoing impacts of residential schools. 

The Government of Canada has been working directly with communities to support their plans to locate and commemorate children who never returned from residential schools through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Residential School Missing Children’s – Community Support Funding program. Specifically in relation to searches, $78.3 million has been delivered to Indigenous communities across the country to support 70 initiatives in research, knowledge gathering, commemoration, memorialization, and fieldwork investigation around the sites of former residential schools.

Communities are leading a variety of initiatives. For example, Bigstone Health Commission has established an Elder Advisory Committee to oversee archival research, interviews, gatherings for Survivors, and ground penetrating radar at both residential school sites. Esk'etemc First Nation is working on a future Spirit Walk or run to commemorate Survivors and those children who did not return home. These and other community-led initiatives have ensured that communities can continue this important work in their own way and at their own pace.

Budget 2022 has allocated an additional $122 million over the next three years to the Residential School Missing Children’s – Community Support Funding program, bringing the Government of Canada's total investment to $238.8 million to date to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72 to 76 on residential schools missing children and burial information.

To ensure communities have a trusted source providing access to professional assistance in the delicate work to locate burial sites, work is being finalized to establish the National Advisory Committee on Residential Schools Missing Children and Unmarked Burials. The Committee will consist of approximately 12 to 15 members with specific expertise in areas such as forensic anthropology or archeology, archival research, Indigenous cultural protocols, communication and financial administration. These members will offer technical expertise and professional advice to communities and the Government of Canada. The Committee will also include three Elders/Knowledge Keepers.

The Government of Canada will support the appointment of an Independent Special Interlocutor to work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments, representative organizations, communities and families, provinces and territories and others to recommend a new federal framework to ensure the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of unmarked graves and burial sites of children at former residential schools. The Government of Canada recognizes the need to move forward with the selection of the Special Interlocutor and is working in collaboration with Indigenous partners towards an appointment as quickly as possible. The federal government has also collaborated with Indigenous leadership and legal experts to define the Special Interlocutor’s mandate.

The Government of Canada continues to take necessary steps to ensure the complete disclosure of federal documents related to residential schools, while respecting Survivors' wishes, legislation, court orders, settlement agreements and ongoing litigation. Canada will also support the digitization of millions of documents relating to the federal Indian Day School System (Day School System), which will ensure Survivors and all Canadians have meaningful access to them.

In addition, many communities are expressing a desire to address the legacy buildings and sites associated with residential schools. To help communities deal with these buildings and the painful memories they represent, Canada committed $100.1 million through Indigenous Services Canada to support community plans to manage former residential school buildings on reserves. This funding will support activities such as building demolition, land remediation or the construction of new facilities so that any community-based activities that currently take place in these buildings can continue.  Canada, with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, is researching the status of residential school properties to better understand the current state of any remaining buildings and former residential school locations.

Further, to support the mental health and wellbeing of Survivors directly, Canada invested $107.3 million in 2021-2022 through Indigenous Services Canada  to support the expansion of trauma-informed cultural and emotional supports for residential school Survivors and others impacted by the legacy of residential schools. Additionally, Budget 2022 proposes $227.6 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to maintain trauma-informed, culturally appropriate, Indigenous-led services to improve mental wellness, and to support efforts initiated through Budget 2021 related to distinctions-based mental health and wellness initiatives.

The Government of Canada remains committed to ensuring that the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools is never forgotten by supporting commemorative initiatives, including $5 million this year events and activities to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, as well as $20 million for the establishment of a national monument. On April 29, 2022, through Canadian Heritage, a Survivor-led Steering Committee was announced to guide work on a Residential Schools National Monument, that will be installed in Ottawa. The monument will honour Survivors and the children who never returned to their families and communities.

The Government of Canada will continue to support the important and ongoing work to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 79iii, building on the 2020 designation of the Residential School System as a national historic event, and the designation of four former residential schools as national historic sites: former Portage La Prairie Residential School in Manitoba (designated 2020), former Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia (designated 2020), former Shingwauk Residential School in Ontario (designated 2021), former Muscowequan Residential School in Saskatchewan (designated 2021).

Addressing the harms suffered by Survivors, their families and communities is at the heart of reconciliation and is essential to renewing and building relationships with Indigenous Peoples, governments, and all Canadians. 

Quotes

“The historical relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples is one framed by colonial practices, especially the residential school system. We acknowledge this and the devastation it has caused, and recognize that trust needs to be built, wrongs need to be addressed and healing needs to be supported. That is why we remain committed to working with leadership, Survivors, their families, and communities – in undertaking the difficult work ahead - at their own pace, according to their own vision and priorities."

The Honourable Marc Miller,
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations 

"The impacts of residential schools have affected generations of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and the hard work to address this shameful policy and the intergenerational trauma it created will take time. We are committed to listening to Indigenous voices as we work to address the legacy of residential schools and support Survivors, their families and communities. "

The Honourable Patty Hajdu 
Minister of Indigenous Services 

"We recognize that colonial policies created systemic injustices for Indigenous Peoples and that we have to act. That’s why we support the reclamation, preservation, revitalization, maintenance and strengthening of Indigenous languages, cultures and cultural spaces in Canada. For families and for communities, it is our duty to ensure that history is not forgotten."

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez,

Minister of Canadian Heritage

"We must seek justice for all the children who never made it home and we are committed to working with First Nations, Inuit and Metis Survivors, families, communities and leaders to ensure this is done. The appointment of an Independent Special Interlocutor will be a critical step in ensuring unmarked graves and burial sites near former residential schools are respectfully and appropriately treated and protected."

The Honourable David T. Lametti, P.C., Q.C., M.P. 
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

“True reconciliation with the Indigenous Peoples of this land means an honest accounting of the horrors of residential schools and forced assimilation. The RCMP has a central part to play in this; which will acknowledge its role in colonialism, address the challenges of the current relationship and chart a course to rebuild trust with Indigenous communities. With $5 million for the RCMP’s National Centre for Missing Person’s to investigate cold cases, funding proposed under Budget 2022 is both a meaningful step towards the pursuit of truth and another step forward on the journey towards reconciliation.”

The Honourable Marco Mendicino
Minister of Public Safety 

“Commemorated people, events, and sites give Canadians a window into Canada’s past and the truths we must share about our history. These histories reverberate in the experience of Indigenous Peoples today. By remembering them, we hope to advance reconciliation and heal the deep wounds that still persist. The Government of Canada will continue working in close collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and communities to remember, share and understand the painful experiences endured by Indigenous children in residential schools, so that we can move forward on path of healing and reconciliation together.”

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

“For the first time, many Canadians saw the tragic legacy of Canada’s colonial past when the remains of 215 children were found in Kamloops, almost one year ago. As more remains are found across the country, it is a painful reminder to us all of past wrongs, the intergenerational trauma caused by the residential school system, and the long road ahead toward reconciliation. Survivors of residential schools and their families are my friends; they are my community. It’s not ancient history. The impacts of these institutions are felt to this day. We must do this important work in partnership, and in support of Indigenous communities, in honouring the memory of all those who did not come home; honour the lives of those who survived and help them heal; and, ensure no Canadian forgets what happened here, so it may never happen again.”

 

The Honourable Daniel Vandal, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

Quick facts

  • In 2021, $9.6 million over three years was provided in addition to $13.4 million over five years announced in Budget 2021 to support initiatives that commemorate the history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, including events and activities marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Also in 2021, $20 million in new funding was set aside to build a national monument in Ottawa. 

  • Budget 2022 proposes:

    • $209.8 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to increase the support provided to communities to document, locate, and memorialize burial sites at former residential schools; to support the operations of and a new building for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; and to ensure the complete disclosure of federal documents related to residential schools.
    • $10.4 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to Justice Canada to support the appointment of a Special Interlocutor who will work collaboratively with Indigenous Peoples and make recommendations for changes to strengthen federal laws and practices to protect and preserve unmarked burial sites.
    • $5.1 million to Public Safety Canada to ensure the Royal Canadian Mounted Police can continue to renew and strengthen existing relationships between the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR), Indigenous communities and police agencies in providing support in missing persons and unidentified remains investigations.
    • $25 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to Library and Archives Canada to support the digitization of millions of documents relating to the federal Day School System, which will ensure Survivors and all Canadians have meaningful access to them.
    • $25 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to Parks Canada to support the commemoration and memorialization of former residential schools sites.

  • A National Residential School Crisis Line is available to access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-Hour National Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.

  • The Hope for Wellness Help Line is also available at 1-855-242-3310 or via the online chat function through their website.

Associated links

Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

Justine Leblanc
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Marc Miller
Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations
justine.leblanc@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca

CIRNAC Media Relations:
Email: RCAANC.Media.CIRNAC@sac-isc.gc.ca
Phone: 819-934-2302

Alison Murphy
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Indigenous Services
Alison.Murphy@sac-isc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Indigenous Services Canada
819-953-1160
media@sac-isc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
media@pch.gc.ca

Chantalle Aubertin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
613-992-6568

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

Media Relations
Parks Canada Agency
855-862-1812
pc.medias-media.pc@canada.ca

Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
613-991-0657
psmediarelations@ps-sp.gc.ca

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