David Lametti, the federal minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, will be in Chilliwack on Thursday (May 19) touring the former Coqualeetza Indian Residential School site, and meeting with Indigenous leaders from across B.C.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a trust-building exercise,含羞草研究社� Lametti told The Chilliwack Progress.
It含羞草研究社檚 been almost a year since the first 215 unmarked graves were found with the help of ground-penetrating radar at the former Kamloops Residential School site. The justice minister has been checking in with Indigenous political leadership to see where they含羞草研究社檙e at in dealing with the former sites in their communities.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 important to see the sites,含羞草研究社� Lametti said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 important to really be there with community leaders, the elders and survivors of residential school system to get a sense of what happened. That is critically important in order to see justice done.含羞草研究社�
He含羞草研究社檚 been on a whirlwind tour meeting with Saskatchewan and B.C. leaders this week.
Whatever comes of the discussions, the justice minister said 含羞草研究社渋n all cases含羞草研究社� he will be following the guidance of local Indigenous leadership, informed by elders and survivors with local knowledge, in how they want to proceed with any potential burial site searches or ground surveys.
含羞草研究社淪ome may opt for ground-penetrating radar. Others may not,含羞草研究社� he said of the various directions that may be taken in terms of uncovering histories.
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含羞草研究社淲e know that retraumatization can occur every time we identify another site,含羞草研究社� Lametti added. The federal government has earmarked half a billion dollars under the portfolio of the Indigenous Services minister, to work with Indigenous communities, as they continue supporting research into missing children and burial sites.
In terms of local area research, interviews of survivors of St. Mary含羞草研究社檚 Residential School is being undertaken by the St贸l艒 Tribal Council, and St贸l艒 Nation leadership has said it plans to execute ground searches at St. Mary含羞草研究社檚 and Coqualeetza, as well as the researching all historical files related to the Coqualeetza site in Chilliwack, All Hallows in Yale, and St. Mary含羞草研究社檚 in Mission. St贸l艒 Nation will also be interviewing Coqualeetza survivors.
Lametti is about to appoint an independent 含羞草研究社渟pecial interlocutor含羞草研究社� who will act as a go-between for the federal government and Indigenous peoples, working to strengthen federal laws and practices around dealing with unmarked burial sites.
The soon-to-be-named individual will be a 含羞草研究社渏urist含羞草研究社� with expertise in the law, the minister said, so they can help root out any 含羞草研究社渓egal gaps含羞草研究社� in the process of drafting a new legislative framework for dealing with burial sites, while liaising with First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis communities.
含羞草研究社淭hey (the special interlocutor) will help facilitate the process, helping leadership access documents, helping communities move forward, and helping push us all toward a more just solution.含羞草研究社�
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