Feds to provide more than $35M to Indigenous communities during Papal visit
The federal government says it will provide more than US$35 million during the papal visit to Canada to support Indigenous communities, organizations and residential schools survivors.
Pope Francis is set to travel to Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut from July 24 to 29. The papal visit is to include public and private events with an emphasis on Indigenous participation.
The Pope is expected to deliver an apology for the Roman Catholic Church's role in residential schools during the trip, building on sentiments expressed earlier this year during an Indigenous delegation to the Vatican.
Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations are putting up $30.5 million of the funds for community-led activities, ceremonies and travel for survivors.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller has previously said the federal government would support survivors who want to attend and planning was taking place to avoid a “logistical nightmare.”
Ottawa said another $3 million will support Indigenous groups in the three regions where Pope Francis will spend time.
The papal visit is scheduled to start in Edmonton before Francis joins survivors at the Ermineskin Indian Residential School in the community of Maskwacis south of the city. Other events in Alberta include attending a local Indigenous church and a large mass at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the Edmonton Elks CFL football team.
The Pope is set to travel to Quebec City mid-week where there will also be a large mass the public can attend. He is to end the journey in Iqaluit where he will meet with residential school survivors and attend a public community event.
The federal government has also committed $2 million to interpret the events and comments from Pope Francis into Indigenous languages.
It's expected Francis will deliver an apology for the Roman Catholic Church's role in residential schools.
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools over a century, and the Roman Catholic Church ran about 60 per cent of the institutions.
---------
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Border concerns, defence priorities: Wide range of topics to discuss during Biden's official visit to Canada
U.S. President Joe Biden heads north next week for his first visit to Canada as president. Ahead of the visit, both countries are laying out a wide range of potential topics spanning from migration policy to continuing support for Ukraine.

FACT CHECK | Popular e-petition calling for Canada to allow trans people to claim asylum, but that right is 'already established'
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
Trudeau met threshold to invoke Emergencies Act, commission finds
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Canada may be turning corner on inflation, but Bank of Canada governor not ruling out 'mild recession'
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Opinion
opinion | Don Martin: Beware the friendly face of Joe Biden. He's just not that into us.
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.

opinion | Don Martin: Finally and inevitably, Trudeau waved the white flag
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
opinion | Don Martin: The Trudeau tipping point is within sight
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin: Trudeau can't ignore the dangers of Chinese meddling in Canada's elections
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
ANALYSIS & INSIGHTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's relationship with the U.S. needed rebuilding post-Trump says Ambassador Hillman
Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman says the country’s relationship with its American counterparts required rebuilding after the Trump administration.

Biden is coming to Canada: Here's what we know about his visit
U.S. President Joe Biden is coming to Canada Thursday evening, kicking off his short but long-awaited overnight official visit to Canada. Here's what CTV News has confirmed about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance'
Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance,' former prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, but he cautioned that Pierre Poilievre should wait until an election before telling Canadians how he might run the country.
WeightWatchers appears set to close dozens of Canadian locations Sunday
WW International appears set to close dozens of its roughly 118 WeightWatchers locations across Canada on March 26 in what may be part of a restructuring strategy.
First victim in fatal Old Montreal fire identified as 76-year-old woman
Montreal police have identified the first victim of the deadly fire in Old Montreal last week that has left two dead and five missing. Insp. David Shane said it was a woman named Camille Maheux, who was 76 years old.
Top 4 quirky consumer complaints received in 2022: BBB
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it receives tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across Canada each year, but once in a while a "quirky" one will take them by surprise.
What are the predictions for Canada's real estate market this spring?
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
More than half of Canadians OK with telling lies to spare others’ feelings: Poll
According to a new poll conducted by Research Co., more than half of Canadians surveyed said it is permissible to lie to spare someone’s feelings.
Canada broke a population growth record in 2022: StatCan
Canada's population grew by more than one million over the course of one calendar year, breaking previous records, a new Statistics Canada report says.