OTTAWA — The Canadian government approached an international commission that helped identify the remains of those killed during 9/11 and the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster to potentially aid its response to the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
A spokesperson for the International Commission on Missing Persons confirmed Monday that the federal government had approached it for support,but said it had no further information to provide and didn’t specify when the outreach happened.
Headquartered in The Hague, the organization works in different countries to help identify people who have gone missing or been killed in major conflicts and disasters using DNA testing. It also helps governments and institutions shape policies related to such issues.
Andreas Kleiser, the policy director for the International Commission on Missing Persons, confirmed the organization has been speaking with officials from the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations, including recently. organization, confirmed
“We checked in on developments,” Kleiser said in an interview Tuesday.
He said going ahead would depend on factors such as funding and “buy in” from Indigenous communities.
Over the past year, First Nations across Western Canada have announced the presence of what are believed to be the unmarked graves of Indigenous children who died while forced to attend residential schools.
At least nine communities have reported discovering 1,685 such graves, according to government statistics provided in May.
Ottawa has committed to providing money and resources to the First Nations to investigate the discoveries.
The federal government also appointed Kimberly Murray, a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation in Quebec and a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to serve as an independent special interlocutor.
Murray was tasked with recommending policy changes and identifying options to protect and preserve the sites.
She said that while the commission does valuable work, the fact the federal government had been inpreliminary discussions with it raised some concerns because it’s unclear if the request for their involvement came from Indigenous communities themselves, which she says must lead the process.
“We’re speaking about Indigenous children in these graves,” she said in an interview Monday.
“We’re talking about Indigenous communities. We have Section 5 constitutional sovereignty rights. It’s a little bit of a different approach that needs to happen with these investigations.”
Murray added that while planning for a recent conference in Edmonton, the federal government asked if her office was interested in hearing from the commission.
In a statement late Monday, the office of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said “there is currently no contract in place” between the department and the missing persons commission, but did not address discussions between the two.
“I would hope that if Canada is engaging in any kind of contract with the commission to do any kind of work that they would have discussed it with Indigenous leadership and survivors,” Murray said.
“How does their work incorporate Indigenous law?”
Some details on Ottawa’s thinking around possibly turning tothe commission are contained in an undated briefing note prepared for the deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, which was released to The Canadian Press under federal access-to-information legislation.
Titled, “Contracting the ICMP (International Commission on Missing Persons) for Engagement Services,)” the heavily-redacted document says the government has heard “repeated calls by Indigenous leadership to develop a national strategy to address the identification of unmarked graves and repatriation of human remains.”
It says communities have made it clear that Ottawa can’t be involved. Successive Canadian governments funded and oversaw the residential school system, though churches operated the institutions.
“The first step in developing this strategy is engagement,” the briefing note reads, saying the commission has “expertise exclusively focused on addressing the complex issue of the identification and repatriation of human remains.”
“As an arm’s length international organization, the ICMP has a reputation as a trusted interlocular with a strong reputation for independence and impartiality.”
It goes on to list how the organization worked with Quebec authorities to help identify some of those killed in the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster, when nearly 50 were killed after the downtown derailment of train cars carrying crude oil.
More recently, the organization says on its website that it has been tapped to help in Ukraine, where thousands of civilians have been killed or gone missing since Russia launched its invasion in February, and where recent mass gravesites have already been found.
Murray said it is critically important that investigations into unmarked graves remain independent of the Canadian government.
“It’s the state police, the state government, that caused the problem that we’re currently trying to investigate our way out of,” she said.
Murray has independently pursued outside expertise, including during the recent conference in Edmonton.
Her office invited the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala, which has helped communities set up labs to investigate and try to identify the remains of those killed in its civil war.
The organization has specific experience working with Indigenous communities, Murray said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.
Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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