On Thursday, May 27, 2021, the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found on the site of the former Kamloops residential school. The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (Ontario) expresses its sincere condolences and stands in solidarity with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and all Indigenous Peoples impacted by this horrifying discovery, especially the families and the communities from whom these children were stolen.
FACL Ontario is an equity-seeking organization. Like all Canadians, we must do more than talk about reconciliation – we must learn to practice it “within ourselves and our families, and in our communities, governments, places of worship, schools, and workplaces” (Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015, p. 21). FACL Ontario honours the lives of the 215 children and re-affirms its commitment to active partnership with our Indigenous allies. We call on the federal and provincial governments to listen to Indigenous leaders and community members, to accept responsibility for the structural violence against and genocide of Indigenous Peoples, and to offer redress and advance reconciliation by fully implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ 231 Calls for Justice.