Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it’s been a difficult year for many since the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools and those expressing anger are justified in doing so.
Trudeau told reporters in Vancouver that Canada was responsible for “horrific things” happening to Indigenous people and the injustices are not isolated in the past.
He said they continue today with socioeconomic inequality, mental health challenges and other legacies of residential schools that require ongoing action.
Trudeau made the comments following a tense appearance Monday at a memorial ceremony at the former residential school in Kamloops, where he faced angry chants from some. The prime minister was in Vancouver Tuesday for a series of announcements, including welcoming the Invictus Games to Canada in 2025, which will include winter sports.
WATCH | Trudeau says federal government will be long-term partners for Indigenous reconciliation
Trudeau says federal government will be long-term partners for Indigenous reconciliation
14 hours ago
Duration 1:58
Justin Trudeau reacts to the heckling he received at the Kamloops memorial.
The Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced last May that ground-penetrating radar had identified as many as 215 suspected graves in an apple orchard by the residential school. Trudeau said Canada is still grappling with the discovery.
“There were a number of people who are still very, very hurt by this and who are angry, and, frankly, they have a right to be angry,” he said.
Invictus Games 2025
The federal and provincial governments are each committing $15 million in support of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.
As the first Invictus Games to feature adaptive winter sports, Trudeau says the event will be “uniquely Canadian.” He also said an additional $1 million in federal funds will be provided to the Soldier On program to support the participation of Canadian veterans in the games.
The games will feature alpine skiing, nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling as well as swimming, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball.
Long passport lines
Trudeau also answered questions Tuesday about long lineups at passport offices and plans for Canada Soccer to host a men’s friendly match against Iran in Vancouver next month.
People throughout the country have expressed frustration over the long lineups as they attempt to receive or renew passports ahead of international travel.
People wait outside in line outside a Services Canada Passport office in Surrey, British Columbia on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
The prime minister said the federal government anticipated this rush in December as travel restrictions lifted and worked to hire 500 new passport office workers to manage the influx.
“We’re delivering about 43,000 new passports a week,” he said. “This is cold comfort for people who are still struggling but it would be even worse had we not started the hiring process back at the beginning of the year.”
He also said the lineups have a silver lining as it indicates a reopening of the economy and international borders after two years of restrictions.
Canada-Iran soccer game ‘a bad idea’
Flight PS752 victims’ families outraged by Canada’s soccer match with Iran
7 days ago
Duration 2:04
The families of the victims in the downing of Flight PS752 are demanding Canada Soccer cancel a planned game with Iran’s soccer team, saying they feel betrayed by the move.
Asked about an upcoming soccer game between the Canadian and Iran men’s teams, Trudeau reiterated his belief it was a “bad idea” to host the game in Vancouver but said ultimately it is not his decision about whether it will be allowed to go ahead.
Families who lost loved ones in the destruction of Flight PS752 are demanding that Canada Soccer abandon its plan for the game, saying they feel “betrayed” by the decision to have the Iranian team in B.C., a sentiment the prime minister said he shares.
“I expressed my concerns that I think this game was a bad idea,” he said, adding that no funding from Sport Canada has been used to help host it.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
