The purported discovery of the remains of 215 children at the site of the Kamloops Residential Indian School sent shockwaves across Canada. For members of many first nation’s communities, it was a bitter reminder of a legacy of hardships endured by their own family members, some deceased and some still living.
For Canadians at large, the alleged discovery served as a stark contrast to the historical idea of Canada being the “good guys” and unearthed a darkness within our nations past.
The event triggered a slew of discoveries of similar sites across Canada and set off a vengeful wave of arson and vandalism at churches unprecedented in our nation’s history.
Everything, however, was not as it seemed, and despite opposition, some began to cast doubt upon the veracity of the claims of mass graves. The so called remains they discovered turned out to be ambiguous “disturbances” located by ground penetrating radar, disturbances that happened to coincide with known sewage trench locations.
The fact is that to this day no remains have been found at Kamloops, but what does remain is a legacy of heartbreak, betrayal, hurt and a staggering number of hate crimes committed against churches.
Sadly, as has become the norm among progressive critics, anyone who dares discuss these facts is labeled a residential school denialist, anyone who seeks out the truth portion of “truth and reconciliation” in hopes of working towards authentic healing, is made out to be a monster.
We need to uncover the truth about any abuses that took place and hold people, governments and churches accountable for their actions, but that task is impossible in a world where false mass graves rhetoric stifles any meaningful conversations.
To shed light on this critical issue Adam was joined by an individual uniquely equipped to comment, Fr. Cristino Bouvette, an indigenous Roman Catholic priest.