Trudeau visits Tk'emlúps te Secwe̓pemc to apologize for Truth and Reconciliation Day snub

The trip comes after the Prime Minister ignored a pair of invitations to join the community on Sept. 30, the country’s first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Kamloops, B.C., on Monday at the request of the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc, to meet with local Indigenous leaders and survivors of the residential school system.

The trip comes after the Prime Minister ignored a pair of invitations to join the community on Sept. 30, the country’s first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a national holiday the Trudeau government created.

“For us it was to show his commitment to rectify the historical wrongs of residential schools, and to grieve with our residential school survivors,” said Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir, about the original invitations.

But instead of visiting Kamloops on Sept. 30, Trudeau used that day to fly from Ottawa to Tofino for a family vacation.

Kukpi7 Casimir said she had been disappointed because not only did Trudeau not respond to the initial requests to attend in person in September, he also didn’t send a video message which was presented as an option.

The creation of the holiday was one of 94 recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Report released in 2015, but it was only after the confirmation of 215 children’s unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School that the government acted on the recommendation.

On Monday, Trudeau was contrite for his previous absence, apologizing a number of times, including personally to two local elders at the request of one of their sons.