Ontario government giving $10M to help locate unmarked graves of Indigenous children who died at residential schools

The Ontario government will spend $10 million to investigate, identify, and commemorate the burial sites of Indigenous children who died in residential schools.

Like all Ontarians, I was heartbroken by the news of a burial site containing the remains of 215 Indigenous children at the former Indian Residential School in Kamloops," Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday.

That is why our government is partnering with Indigenous communities to address the loss of generations who are no longer with us, and the continued loss experienced by residential school survivors and their families," said Ford.

As we advance meaningful reconciliation, it is important that all of us continue to deepen our collective understanding of the legacy of the Indian Residential School system."

Ford said some of the money will also go toward culturally appropriate, trauma-informed mental health supports" for residential school survivors and their families.

According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, there were 18 residential schools in Ontario, the last of which only closed in 1991.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford has said there at least a dozen unmarked burial sites with the graves of at least 426 Indigenous children in the province.

We know that the tragic findings at a former Indian Residential School site in British Columbia are sadly not an anomaly," said Rickford.

Ontario Regional Chief Roseanne Archibald said she was grateful" that the province is tackling such a painful issue.

Our little ones need to be found, named, and where possible, returned to their families and communities," said Archibald.

Memorial sites must go up across Ontario to remind us that we can never let this happen to our children again, ever," she said.

Alvin Fiddler, the former grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski, said our Nations are in mourning."

Survivors have long shared the truths about the missing children. The province is now listening. Our Nations must lead this important and sacred work with the support from the province," said Fiddler.

We require access to funding, technical expertise, mental health supports and justice. We want to find our children and bring them home."

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie