Question Period Note: Residential Schools - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

• September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, where people across Canada reflect on the lasting and painful impacts of the residential schools’ system on First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in our country.
• Together, we honour the children who did not return home, the Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.
• Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

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If pressed on Indian Residential School Sites (Calls to Action 72-76) – Unmarked Burials
• Our thoughts are with Survivors, their families and communities as the heartbreaking truth about residential schools continues to negatively impact Indigenous Peoples.
• Funding is available to commemorate children who died while attending residential schools, including support for community-led efforts to locate and document burial sites and unmarked graves associated with residential schools.
• We understand uncertainty around future funding levels remain a concern. We will support as many communities as possible with the available program funding. For those in the early stages of this work, we will ensure they have adequate support to get started, and for those at more advanced stages, we will provide guidance on program requirements, and the necessary support to carry out these critical activities.
If pressed on Funding for Unmarked Burial Sites
• The original Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Funding framework has been restored. This is in direct response to concerns and feedback received from Indigenous leaders and communities.
• Building on previous budgets, Budget 2024 provides $91 million over two years, starting in 2024-25 to increase support for Indigenous partners and communities in designing and implementing community-led and Survivor-centric initiatives seeking to locate and document burial sites associated with former residential schools.
• As of September 11, 2024, 146 funding agreements have been put in place providing more than $216.6 million to Indigenous communities and organizations to support community-led and Survivor-centric initiatives to document, locate and commemorate the children who did not return home and unmarked burial sites.