Catholic Church must ‘take responsibility’ for school abuses after remains of 215 children found, Trudeau says
- Canada has been convulsed by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia
- The school was one of many boarding schools set up a century ago to forcibly assimilate the country’s indigenous peoples
He warned that his government was prepared to take “stronger measures,” possibly including legal action, to obtain the documents demanded by victims’ families if the church fails to comply.
Canada has been convulsed by the discovery of the remains at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia – especially as there were only 50 deaths officially on record there.
The school was one of many boarding schools set up a century ago to forcibly assimilate the country’s indigenous peoples.
He recalled a May 2017 trip to the Vatican during which he sought a formal apology from Pope Francis for abuses of students, as well as access to church records to help account for more than 4,100 students believed to have died from disease or malnutrition.
“We’re still seeing resistance from the church,” Trudeau said.
