‘Not interested in apologies,’ First Nation demands ‘institutional and widespread change’ from Justin Trudeau

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This article was published 06/10/2021 (1079 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA—Members of the Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc First Nation have agreed to meet with Justin Trudeau this month, a day after the prime minister acknowledged that it was a “mistake” to vacation in Tofino, B.C. on Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“We are not interested in apologies that don’t lead to institutional and widespread change,” the First Nation said in a written statement Thursday, which outlined commitments it wants Trudeau to be prepared to discuss at their meeting.

In late May, the First Nation grappled with the discovery of more than 200 unmarked graves on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. The Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc later sent two invitations to the Prime Minister’s Office requesting Trudeau’s presence at an event to honour the national holiday.

Those invitations went unacknowledged, and Trudeau instead began a vacation with his family that day.

The prime minister apologized publicly for the slight on Wednesday, after having privately apologized to Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir on Oct. 2.

On Thursday, the First Nation reiterated its disappointment with Ottawa’s failure to respond to its invitations, and said the PMO also failed to acknowledge an offer to supply “a filmed speech that could have been aired” on the day.

“That was an unfortunate decision and a missed opportunity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to show Canadians his commitment to Indian Residential School Survivors and Le Estcwéý (the missing),” the statement said.

When asked by the Star, the PMO would not say whether it had received that offer.

The First Nation called the lack of a response “an added insult,” given that Trudeau “never extended his personal hand of sympathy to our community” when the discovery of the unmarked graves was first announced on May 27.

The prime minister tweeted on June 1 that he had spoken to Casimir about the devastating finding.

Ahead of this month’s visit, the Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc have asked Trudeau to “come prepared” to discuss funding opportunities for two projects that would advance reconciliation for residential school survivors.

The First Nation wants funding for an Indigenous healing centre to support those who attended residential schools and intergenerational survivors. It also repeated a request for “the full and complete disclosure” of all government records related to residential schools, with a specific emphasis on student attendance records from Kamloops Indian Residential School.

On Wednesday, the prime minister referred to his speech at a ceremony held by elders and survivors on Parliament Hill on Sept. 29, the evening before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In French, he spoke about how he discussed the need to properly understand the legacy of residential schools while building toward a better future.

A spokesperson from the Department of Canadian Heritage said the ceremony was held the night before the national holiday so that the day itself would be “Indigenous-led and Survivor-centric.”

While Trudeau did travel to Tofino, B.C. for a vacation the next day — a trip that was left out of his daily itinerary at the time — his office said he also spoke to eight residential school survivors about their experiences.

A specific date for the prime minister’s visit with the Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc has not yet been announced, with the statement noting only that a date had been chosen based on options provided by Trudeau’s office.

Raisa Patel is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @R_SPatel