The Canadian government destroyed 15 tons of paper documents related to the residential school system between 1936 and 1944, including 200,000 Indian Affairs files.
From the age of four, Mike Cachagee attended three separate residential schools in northern Ontario. But there are few records to prove it.
"All the records of me going there, my attendance, everything was at the hands of my captors -- the Church and Canada," Cachagee said in an interview with CTV National News from Goulais River, Ont.
Cachagee says he was sexually and physically abused while at the Church-run, government-sponsored institutions, and saw former classmates unceremoniously buried in front of his own eyes.
"It was very inhumane," Cachagee said. "You've got 70 or 80 or a 100 in assembly with a child in a wooden box. No one mourning, no one crying."
With records being either destroyed or withheld, many children who attended Canada's residential schools have become ghosts of history.
In Kamloops, B.C., the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) only has records for 51 children ever dying at the residential school despite the remains of 215 being discovered last week.
The Catholic Church administrated many of Canada's residential schools, including the one in Kamloops, as did the Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches for more than 120 years.
Despite previously meeting with Indigenous leaders, there has been no papal apology on Canadian soil – one of the calls to action in the TRC's final report released in 2015.
Residential school survivors say the lack of accountability is adding to their trauma.
"To apologize from the church's leader would acknowledge the truth and once truth is accepted and truth is told, then we move to reconciliation," Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme said.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller of the Vancouver archdiocese said Catholic organizations should address their role in the schooling system and release their records.
However, the Archdiocese of Regina isn't waiting for Rome.
Archbishop Donald Bolen issued a statement on Thursday on the Archdiocese website apologizing for the "hurt and decisions of our Church" both presently and in the past.
Bolen explained to CTV News that the apology was necessary given Saskatchewan’s history of residential schools.
"Because the legacy of suffering connected to residential schools in this province and in this diocese is so deep," Bolen said.
While the Catholic Church hasn't apologized for the abuses endured by those who attended residential schools, one religious group did so years ago.
Rev. Carmen Lansdowne is a member of B.C.'s Heiltsuk First Nation. She is also minister of the First United Church, an inner-city ministry of the United Church of Canada.
The United Church formally apologized in 1988 for its role in operating residential schools.
"I don't think I could have become ordained if we hadn't apologized," Lansdowne said.
More than a dozen lawyers across Canada on Thursday formally requested that the International Criminal Court investigate the Vatican and the Canadian government for what they say constitutes crimes against humanity.
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: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
Danielle Smith will return to the Alberta legislature as premier after the United Conservative Party won the provincial election over Rachel Notley's NDP on Monday night.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
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Sandie Rinaldo tells the story of the largest Black military unit in Canadian history, whose members had to fight to serve for Canada in the First World War as they faced rampant racism at home.
The Sandy Hill Child Care Centre has an extra two weeks to get its new home up to code months after a fire destroyed its original site on Wilbrod Street.
Ottawa police are praising a local dad for quickly calling for help Sunday afternoon when he accidentally locked his keys in his car, and his infant child along with them.
Ontario Provincial Police say a driver from Augusta Township is facing an impaired driving charge after someone on Highway 416 spotted a vehicle moving erratically.
The rural Oxford County intersection where an OPP officer and a school bus driver were killed Monday was less than a month away from becoming a four-way stop when the deadly crash happened.
It was a night of indecision at Waterloo region's catholic school board as trustees went back and forth trying to find the best approach to fill a vacant seat.
Windsor city council voted Monday in favour of adopting a master plan with high hopes for City Hall Square and a so-called civic esplanade stretching down to the river
A united front was on full display Monday as community leaders, politicians, business people, unions and educators gathered together at Windsor City Hall to ensure the NextStar Energy battery plant deal gets closed.
Doctors in their final year of training, called residency, can choose to do a one-month rotation at the Shelter Health Initiative (SHI) caring for Windsor’s homeless population.
The union representing the majority of Quebec's daycare workers is criticizing the government's decision to launch a skimpy 90-hour training program for people who want to be daycare workers but have no prior experience.
A Quebec driver who caused the death of another motorist when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting a family of ducks on the road has been sentenced to eight months in jail and a three-year driving ban.
A Winnipeg family is asking for help to find their missing teenage son whom they haven't seen since he left for school in the Fort Richmond area last Wednesday morning.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
Danielle Smith will return to the Alberta legislature as premier after the United Conservative Party won the provincial election over Rachel Notley's NDP on Monday night.
One long-time electoral tradition came to an end on election day, when Postmedia announced there would be no printed newspaper announcing the winner in Calgary.
Danielle Smith will return to the Alberta legislature as premier after the United Conservative Party won the provincial election over Rachel Notley's NDP on Monday night.
Over 170,000 elementary and high school students weighed in on the Alberta election and the NDP had to hope the real voters were listening, because they won the kids' vote.
On Monday, Fraser Health provided two senior leaders to address the latest letter outlining risks to patients, allegations of muzzling, and pleas for help from emergency physicians in the health authority's hospitals.
The president of the BC Trucking Association is issuing renewed calls for safety after a trailer truck smashed into an overhead pass Monday morning in Langley.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Monday he is starting to review the mandate for CBC and its French-language service Radio-Canada, including ways the government can bolster funding to the public broadcaster so it is less reliant on advertising dollars.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek says the Liberal government expects to have a plan for the future of 24 Sussex Drive by the fall.
Three national health organizations want Canada's premiers to push for initiatives to reduce smoking during settlement negotiations with major tobacco companies, years after provinces sued to recoup health-care costs.
Artificial intelligence means everyone can now be a computer programmer as all they need to do is speak to the computer, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Monday, hailing the end of the 'digital divide.'
North Korea on Monday notified neighbouring Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put Pyongyang's first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
China plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, in what would be another advance in what's increasingly seen as a new space race pitting the Asian autocracy against the United States and its democratic allies.
Quebec actor Michel Cote, who captivated audiences with his roles in the theatre piece 'Broue' and films such as 'Cruising Bar' and C.R.A.Z.Y.,' has died at 72.
George Maharis, a stage-trained actor with rough-hewn good looks who became an icon to American youth in the 1960s as he cruised the country in a Corvette convertible in the hit television series 'Route 66,' has died.
Turkiye's lira hit fresh record lows against the dollar on Monday, though stocks rallied, after President Tayyip Erdogan secured victory in Sunday's presidential election, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.
Canada's main stock index ticked upwards Monday, with broad-based gains led by battery metals and energy stock as U.S. markets were closed for a long weekend south of the border.
The reviews are starting to come in as details emerge about the debt ceiling agreement reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Animated movies are often a child’s first exposure to media and film. And the representation of people of color in media influences how they feel about race as they mature, a study by the non-profit Common Sense has found.
From actions in their local communities to mass demonstrations, here's how Canadians from all walks of life are inspiring others to take part in helping the environment.
Authors discuss their new book, 'Sorry, Sorry, Sorry: The Case for Good Apologies,' which aims to demystify the process of delivering honest apologies.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
The Philadelphia 76ers went all-in with their NBA championship pursuit on Monday, selecting veteran Nick Nurse as their new coach to try to win the franchise's first title since 1983.
Fernando Alonso has five podiums in six races in a remarkable season for Aston Martin, yet still feels he's no closer to catching Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The two-time Formula One champions now head to a race with special significance for both of them.
Formula One champion Max Verstappen's lights-to-flag victory at the Monaco Grand gave the Red Bull driver his fourth victory of the season and a record 39th overall for the team as he extended his championship lead to 39 points over teammate Sergio Perez on Sunday.
A Tennessee company is refusing demands from U.S. regulators to recall millions of vehicles due to airbag inflators that can explode and shoot shrapnel into drivers. While cases are rare, there has been at least one death in Canada, where officials lack the authority to demand a similarly sweeping recall.
