A St. Catharines councillor will be asking for city run Canada Day celebrations to be cancelled in the wake of another devastating discovery at a former residential school.
Councillor Greg Miller says he intends to bring up the idea during Monday's Council meeting.
In a notice, he writes, "I hope any City programming around July 1 this year has been significantly altered away from 'celebration.' Canada Day as we know it should be cancelled and a day of mourning, reconciliation, and understanding instituted in its place."
Yesterday the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan announced the discovery of 751 unmarked graves near a former residential school.
Representatives say the findings were not from a mass grave, but from unmarked graves where the headstones had been removed.
At this stage in the investigation there is a 10 to 15 percent margin of error, and the remains could belong to adults or children.
Similar discoveries have been made at other residential schools throughout the years, including in BC where the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found earlier this month.
Flags at municipal buildings in Niagara are being lowered to recognize the latest finding.
A 24-hour support line has been set up for former residential school students in distress and anyone else deeply affected by the residential school system - 1-866-925-4419. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society can also be reached at 1-800-721-0066.
As such, I’ve sent a brief email to the Mayor, CAO and Deputy CAO of St. Catharines.
— Greg Miller - City Councillor (@GregMillerSTC) June 24, 2021
Please listen to and amplify Indigenous voices. Implement the Calls To Action from the TRC. https://t.co/qdAuRpVZFA pic.twitter.com/OOz6Ty1qwg