N.B. Indigenous leaders meet with premier to discuss plans for searching former 'day school' sites
Following the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a residential school in Kamloops, B.C., New Brunswick Indigenous leaders are working with the provincial government to survey the sites of their former "Indian day schools."
"We need to reconcile what's happened in the past and we need to build a future together and all the conversation was very real, very personal," said Premier Blaine Higgs.
More than 10 Chiefs and Elders of New Brunswick’s First Nations spoke with the Premier on Thursday.
Barry LaBillois, who is the president and Chief of the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council, took part.
"We talked about the day school down in Sussex. Not only that, we talked about that we have to have some type of recognition down there a plaque or something that this is where it is also work has to be done down there to sit back and say ok are there kids down here as well," LaBillois said. "It's important that we talk about the day schools that happened on the reserve as well and let the general public know of the issues that are out there."
The University of New Brunswick's history department is hoping to contribute resources to any Indigenous communities looking for archival information.
"We really just wanted to break down a barrier between a colonial institution like the university and to use our networks as a way to assist Indigenous communities in work that's already going on," said Dr. Erin Morton.
First Nations will be working with the province on next steps of bringing Indigenous history to light.
"(We're making) kind of a list of what they'd like to see, how we recognize the situation, how we make awareness, and how we move on from here so that's the next step is the request made there they wanted to formalize that to us so we all can understand how do we do this right and that's where we're headed is to do this right," said Higgs.
Higgs says there will be an investigation into 12 sites that were identified to determine whether there are unmarked graves.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, Ontario police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.
Taylor Swift's new album allegedly 'leaked' on social media and it's causing a frenzy
A Google Drive link allegedly containing 17 tracks that are purportedly from Swift's eagerly awaited "The Tortured Poets Department" album has been making the rounds on the internet in the past day and people are equal parts mad, sad and happy about it.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.