Canada to uncover more school graves sites where requested

A Canadian Cabinet minister has pledged again to support efforts to find more unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous students after the remains of 215 children were located at what was once Canada’s largest such school

TORONTO -- A Canadian Cabinet minister pledged again Wednesday to support efforts to find more unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous students after the remains of 215 children were located at what was once Canada’s largest such school. The comments from Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett come as First Nations leaders called for an examination of other former residential schools — institutions that held Indigenous children taken from families across the nation. Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia has said the remains of 215 children were confirmed last month at the school in Kamloops, British Columbia, with the help of ground-penetrating radar. So far none has been excavated. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the government will help preserve gravesites and search for potential unmarked burial grounds at other former residential schools. But Trudeau and his ministers have stressed need for Indigenous communities to decide for themselves how they want to proceed.