Un grupo de personas de origen latinoamericano le hizo llegar al Primer Ministro Justin Trudeau y a otras autoridades y referentes partidarios su preocupación por los incumplimentos de los acuerdos que se han alcanzado entre el Estado canadiense y las diferentes comunidades de pueblos originarios. Publicamos tanto la carta enviada como las respuestas recibidas por parte del Primer Ministro y del lider del NDP Jagmeet Singh. .

To the Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister

The remains of the bodies of 215 Indigenous children were recently found at the Indian Residential School in Kamloops.

It is estimated that over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, between the ages of 4 and 16, attended Residential schools.

The number of 215 children found in Kamloops, although horrifying, is only a fraction of the thousands of children that were abused and killed in these (Canadian government and church run) schools.

The death of First Nations children at these schools constitutes genocide.  This truth has never been acted upon, nor forcefully acknowledged.  It has largely been ignored by all levels of governments, institutions and a large part of our population, despite years of denunciation by indigenous peoples.

Therefore, we call upon the Federal government to immediately:

1.      Allocate sufficient resources to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation so that it can develop and maintain the National Residential School Student Death Register, as established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

2.     Work with all levels of government to fully implement the 94 Calls to Action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

3.     Take all necessary steps to provide clean drinking water, housing, education, health and other services to all First Nations communities.

4.     Fund economic development and provide social support for First Nations people in our cities and in rural communities.

5.     Ensure that all Canadian children grow up learning about the horrors of the residential school system and Canada’s history of violence against the peoples of the First Nations.

6.     The Federal Government has to stop challenging the Human Rights ruling to compensate apprehended First Nations children harmed by the on- reserve child welfare system.

In conclusion, we demand that the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments apologize to and financially compensate all Canadian First Nations communities for the cruelty, abuse, oppression and constant human rights violations they have experienced.

We, the signers, are hereby requesting your government to immediately implement the above actions and commitments.

Sincerely,

(Siguen firmas)

Respuesta de la oficina de prensa del Primer Ministro

On behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence regarding the discovery of the remains of 215 children found buried at a former British Columbia residential school.

Our government is profoundly saddened by this tragic news and our thoughts are with Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, as well as with all Indigenous communities across Canada. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) brought to light the truth about Canadian history and what took place at residential schools. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation was established and is now responsible for the Student Death Registries. Since Budget 2019, we have been engaging with Indigenous communities impacted by residential schools on how best to proceed with implementing Calls to Action 72 to 76.

The loss of children who attended Indian Residential Schools is unthinkable and Canada remains resolved to supporting families, Survivors and communities and to memorializing those lost innocent souls. Our government is committed to continuing our engagement with communities on the development of culturally appropriate approaches to identifying the deceased children, locating burial sites and commemorating or memorializing those who died or went missing while attending residential schools. We have heard and are ensuring that the approaches taken moving forward are Indigenous-led, community-based, Survivor-centric and culturally sensitive.

Thank you once again for sharing your concerns and for writing to the Prime Minister.
Please accept my warmest regards.

Sincerely,

Jean-Luc Marion
Senior Manager – Prime Minister’s Correspondence

Respuesta del lider del NDP Jagmeet Singh

Thank you for your email. I appreciate that the horrific news of the 215 children found buried at the Kamloops Residential School has touched so many across Canada.

Thank you for sharing. Sadly, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals are ever mindful of the heartbreaking experiences they and their families endured over the years.

As we mourn this great loss, it was important for me to respond to this national tragedy in a meaningful way. That’s why I called on the Federal government to immediately withdraw its court action against Residential School survivors and Indigenous children. The House of Commons passed my motion with a 267-0 vote. But it was very telling that Prime Minister Trudeau and his Ministers couldn’t even be bothered to show up and vote!

What’s more, this unanimous vote of support by MPs from all parties sends a clear message to the Liberal government. It’s an urgent plea to act and:

– stop taking Indigenous Kids and Residential School Survivors to court

– work with First Nations to fund further investigation into the disappearances and deaths of children at residential schools

– fully fund the healing resources all survivors need

– accelerate government efforts to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and provide a timeline for completion

– immediately work on implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 71-76.

Our job now is to ramp up the pressure to turn this vote into real action. Add your voice to the petition right now https://www.ndp.ca/respect-indigenous-kids

I know there’s a lot of work to do to create a true and equal partnership between Canada and Indigenous people. But New Democrats are committed to doing all that’s necessary to achieve this goal. This means making sure Indigenous communities have access to clean drinking water, implementing the direct calls to action and justice from the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, protecting Indigenous fishing rights, fighting against systemic anti-Indigenous racism within the RCMP, and demanding that the federal government adopt an Indigenous-led housing strategy.

We’ll continue to fight for Indigenous people and the justice and genuine reconciliation they deserve. And, we’ll continue to push the Liberal government to uphold Indigenous rights.

Best regards,

Jagmeet Singh, M.P. (Burnaby South)

Leader, Canada’s New Democrats