Canada will have to “learn the lessons of (its) past” towards the First Nations, victims of “systemic discrimination and injustice”, reacted Thursday the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the discovery of 751 anonymous graves near a residential school for natives.
The location of these graves in Marieval, Saskatchewan, less than a month after the remains of 215 children were found near a residential school in neighboring Kamloops, British Columbia, “are part of a larger tragedy,” Mr. Trudeau in a press release.
These tragedies are a “shameful reminder of the systemic racism, discrimination and injustice that indigenous peoples have been – and still are – confronted with in this country,” said the Prime Minister, who made reconciliation with the First Nations nations one of the stated priorities of his government.
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“Together, we must recognize this truth, learn from our past and move forward on the common path of reconciliation. We will be able to build a better future ”, he added, sharing his“ immense sadness ”with the communities concerned.
“The pain and trauma you feel, Canada is responsible,” continued Mr. Trudeau, who once again pledged financial and material assistance to indigenous communities to shed light on these terrible injustices.
“If we can’t bring back those we lost, we can tell the truth about the wrongs they suffered – and we will,” he pledged.
These discoveries rekindle the trauma experienced by some 150,000 Amerindian, Métis and Inuit children, cut off from their families, their language and their culture and forcibly enrolled until the 1990s in 139 of these residential schools across the country.
Many of them have been subjected to ill-treatment or sexual abuse, and more than 4,000 have died there, according to a commission of inquiry which had concluded to a true “cultural genocide” on behalf of Canada.
The head of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations of the province of Saskatchewan, Bobby Cameron, on Thursday denounced a “crime against humanity”.
For his part, the Conservative leader, Erin O’Toole, assured that “Canada’s Conservatives recognize the deep sorrow and mourning that all First Nations peoples are currently experiencing, as well as the survivors of the Indian residential schools.”
“This discovery is a grim reminder that there is still a lot of work to be done to address the devastating and damaging effects that residential schools have caused on many survivors,” he added in a statement.
In an interview with LCN, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh pleaded for the implementation of the action plan of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He also called for concrete action, regretting that the federal government is continuing legal battles against aboriginal children.
“The already too long sequence of such sad discoveries, of heavy and dark bereavements, must never dull our compassion, our solidarity and our desire for truth and justice. My thoughts are with our sisters and our native brothers in Marieval, ”said Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet.
“It is heartbreaking to think that so many children have lost their lives after being separated from their families,” said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who said he offered his cooperation. administration to the grieving community.
For his part, the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Perry Bellegarde, described the news as being “absolutely tragic, but not surprising”. He urged “all Canadians to support First Nations at this extremely difficult and emotional time.”
As a reminder, some 150,000 children attended residential schools across the country. Some of these establishments serve today as places of memory and celebration of indigenous culture, education, but several are abandoned.
On Monday, House of Commons elected officials supported a Bloc Québécois motion demanding that the federal government fund the identification of residential school sites and investigate the presence of other remains of children across the country.
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