CAIR’s board of directors, staff, and the entire IR community stands with all Indigenous Communities, especially the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nations, in mourning the tragedy of the 215 children’s lives taken at the hands of the Canadian residential school system.
We are reminded that residential schools are not just part of our history – they continue to play an active role in our present, and action and education must be taken for all of Canada to realize that Every Child Matters.
Our heart goes out to the families and communities experiencing such unspeakable pain, as well as to the survivors of residential schools.
We know there is much harm to overcome and much to learn from Indigenous leaders and organizations if we are to ensure a very different future and we firmly believe all of us have a role to play in advancing meaningful truth and reconciliation.