Canada still has 'real reconciling' to do for residential schools, advocate says
Canada still has 'real reconciling' to do for residential schools, advocate says
The discovery of more potential graves on the site of a former residential school in B.C. is a stark reminder of Canada's dark history and its long road to reconciliation, Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Family and Caring Society of Canada, says.
The discovery, found on the grounds of former Joseph's Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, B.C., is among hundreds of unmarked graves and anomalies found to date as Indigenous communities continue to grieve.
"We need to talk about our real reconciling of the country," Blackstock told CTV's Your Morning on Monday.
"The Government of Canada has not really fully taken on board the level of responsibility it has for residential schools and we see this in its continued litigation against residential school survivors."
The full release of records on residential school systems from the federal government, the Holy See and the Catholic Church is needed, she says, to fully understand the number of children who died from abuse and neglect since the current estimates are likely underrepresented.
The process to retain these records has become longwinded even after the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement that required the federal government and religious groups to release the documents, and advocates says many are still missing. However, in January 2022, Canada's Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller announced the government would hand over thousands of previously undisclosed records from residential schools to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).
To date, the (NCTR) and the TRC have reported the deaths of 4,117 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children in residential schools across Canada, however this number is likely to be over 6,000 in reality, according to former chairman of the commission.
Additionally, Blackstock says the records that are still in existence are even more essential since many death records weren't kept when the residential schools were still in operation, after chief medical officer of the Department of Indian Affairs Peter Henderson Bryce first sounded the alarm on the alarming death rates of the children in 1907.
The pressure needs to come from Canadians themselves, Blackstock said, and the federal government needs to be reminded of the importance of reuniting these children with their families to give them a proper burial on their own terms.
"We need to support these communities to find these children and then to be able to try to reunite them back with their families for sacred ceremonies," she said.
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free line at 1-800-721-0066.
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
This Sunday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will announce the four astronauts that will be blasting off to fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission, one of whom will be a Canadian astronaut.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. Watch W5's 'Something in the Water' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. An interactive map and chart on W5.CTVNews.ca shows where in Canada these asbestos cement pipes are being used.
CTV W5 speaks with members of the comedy industry, including Russell Peters, for a wide-ranging look at how political correctness and 'cancel culture' has changed the world of stand-up comedy.
An Ontario couple has filed a request with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to appoint a new police force to investigate the death of their 17-year-old son Benjamin, who died during a hockey team-bonding event in September 2019.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
A 22-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a teenager at Keele Station over the weekend was released on a probation order just weeks earlier, tied to a sexual assault charge, court documents show.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
Premier Doug Ford is slamming federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as a “real piece of work” in the wake of public remarks he made suggesting that Ontario has “no plan to fight climate change.”
Ryan Reynolds spent the day in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Senators, meeting with officials from the city of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission and attending the Senators game.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
The jury reached a verdict in the case of Georgian Bay Township man Sigfrid Stahn accused of impaired driving causing death in the 2020 Highway 12 crash that claimed the life of 77-year-old Midland man Guenter Naumann.
Dog kennels are bursting at the seams as pet owners forced to give up their furry friends struggle with risings costs of living. Despite a rise in cat and kitten adoptions, dog adoptions are down by over 50 per cent.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
When the store manager at La Noisette Bakery arrived Thursday morning to open the small shop on Oxford Street, she discovered that one of the two large circular windows at the side of their building was shattered.
WEATHER I Hopefully Londoners soaked up the sunshine on Thursday, as a weather system is slated to move into the region on Friday, bringing with it rain, wind and possible thunderstorms.
A couple dozen visual artists are coming together this Saturday for an exhibition focused on the oppression of women, curated by a Windsor woman who escaped Iran three years ago.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
Three major police forces are uniting to launch Projet Meche, a joint investigation to fight organized crime in Montreal, Laval and North Shore communities.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has spoken up in her defence.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
Connor McDavid scored his NHL-leading 61st goal of the season and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.
One more Albertan has died from influenza since the last update according to the data, while newly reported cases for the last two weeks were slightly higher than the numbers seen for a month prior.
At Academy Farms in Langley, they raise bison and water buffalo, but this is more than a farm. It's a place that's helping people from across the country find their way out of addiction.
The redevelopment planning process was quietly halted earlier this year, and now the Kwikwetlem First Nation is speaking up about what they’d like to see happen on the land where the Riverview Hospital operated for a century.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
The B.C. government's bid to restrict the sale of diabetes drug Ozempic to prevent non-Canadian residents draining supplies was the right move and a long time coming, says Brett Skinner, founder and CEO of the Canadian Health Policy Institute.
When the doors close at night at the administration office at Yukon's Carcross Tagish First Nation, a van hits the road and drives through the communities to offer naloxone to reverse overdoses, drug testing kits, food and even a friendly face to help those struggling because of the opioid crisis.
New research suggests the classic image of a Tyrannosaurus rex with massive, sharp teeth might be wrong. A study in the journal Science suggests the teeth on a T. rex was likely covered by scaly lips and didn't stick out when its mouth was closed.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
Camila Cabello credits the strong women in her life for her success as an artist and a person. So it was only natural that she was there to celebrate her grandmother's milestone -- the publication of a novel.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
The European Union must be prepared to develop measures to protect trade and investment that China might exploit for its own security and military purposes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Thursday.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
On March 30, 1923, exactly 100 years ago, the world's first continuous passenger cruise ship arrived back in New York City after completing a 130-day voyage.
Marcus Stroman committed baseball's first regular-season pitch-clock violation in the third inning of the Chicago Cubs' 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday on opening day.
Tiger Woods returns to the Masters, no longer a surprise as it was a year ago but no less a rare appearance. This will be only his third tournament against elite competition since he remarkably hobbled his way through 72 holes at Augusta National.
Ryan Reynolds spent the day in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Senators, meeting with officials from the city of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission and attending the Senators game.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
Closing out a half century of purely gasoline-powered V12 cars going back to the brand's earliest models, Luxury Italian sports car designer Lamborghini has unveiled its first supercar with a charging port.
After claiming his 100th podium in Saudi Arabia in confusing and controversial circumstances, Fernando Alonso is looking for a better result at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix than his two third-place finishes so far this Formula One season.
