The B.C. Legislature has issued an apology after a display of shoes, candles and toys placed on its steps to honour Indigenous children was removed without warning this weekend, just hours after it was set up.
The memorial was set up on Friday, May 28, a day after the Tkemlups te Secwepemc announced it had found the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of the former residential school.
A statement from the Legislature says security officers “extinguished the candles and collected the mementos” on Friday night after people had left the front steps of the legislature in downtown Victoria.
“Compassion and sensitivity should have been exercised with the memorial items remaining in place,” the statement reads. “The Legislative Assembly offers its sincere apologies for the hurt this has caused.”
The memorial of candles and children’s shoes was replaced on Monday and it “will not be disturbed during this period of mourning.”
Speaking in the B.C. Legislature yesterday, Premier John Horgan and several MLAs were emotional as they talked about the far-reaching impact of last week’s revelation from Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc.
“It is not just a moment in history as I often revert to to protect the emotions that we all have when we think about our children being torn from us by the state, sent to who knows where to be told to be good, white people,” Horgan said. “Its unimaginable to us today, yet a very active part of who we are as Canadians.”
The Premier went on to say that all Canadians have a responsibility to acknowledge the dark past of the Residential School System head on.
In a statement, Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir says Canada has to face ownership and accountability about the past after the unmarked graves of 215 children were found at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
“In the last couple of days, I’ve had elders, I’ve had community members reach out and express the depths of their sorrows and their sadness, and how its triggering them,” she said, noting band members are grateful for the outpouring of support they’ve gotten this past week.
Please see this statement regarding events that transpired on the legislative grounds this past weekend. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/sgFYmXB6V0
— BC Legislature (@BCLegislature) June 1, 2021
