Parks Canada in confidential emails disputed the "215 buried children" story but made no public comment after Trudeau visited the site to "my respects to the graves." : r/CanadianConservative - "Most people would still call you a racist if you told them the truth on this topic. You're likely to lose your job as well. It's crazy!!"
Jonathan Kay on X - "is this really a surprise ? seriously, tho, this explains why it took a full year until journalists began debunking the social panic surrounding those 215 non-existent graves: It was an election year, and Trudeau's morbid photo-ops were treated as sacred social-justice kabuki"
Parks Canada staff doubted "graves" at Kamloops school site: emails - "Parks Canada employees doubted claims that hundreds of children were buried at a B.C. residential school site, according to emails. In a report published by Blacklock’s Reporter, staff of the government agency cast doubt on the media narrative that 215 “hits” identified by ground-penetrating radar at the site of the former school at Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in Kamloops were actually the remains of children. Despite being provided with $12.1 million in federal money to conduct exhumation and DNA testing, no attempt has so far been made to identify what actually lies underground. In April, Blacklock’s reported Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation had spent years being turned down for government grants — a situation that quickly changed once the “anomalies” were found. “Authors refer to the 215 ground-penetrating radar hits that were reported in 2021 as ‘graves’ or ‘burials,’” wrote one Parks Canada consultant in an email. “But none of these sites have been investigated further to determine that they are graves.” The discovery of the anomalies in 2021 — described in the media and by politicians as unmarked graves of children — sparked a nationwide reaction, including visits by then-PM Justin Trudeau, who ordered government flags lowered at half-mast, and remained that way for nearly six months. The consultant also noted that ground-penetrating radar often produces “false positives, anomalies that are not indicative of anything significant” and recommended the anomalies be referred to as “possible” or “probable” graves. Indeed, an October 2023 Parks Canada report was modified to alter references to “graves” to “probable unmarked graves,” but emails from agency managers a year later concluded that it was inaccurate to even refer to them as “probable graves,” echoing the accuracy of relying on ground-penetrating radar. “It provides evidence of anomalies. I am quoting the archeologists here,” one manager wrote. “It might be preferable to not use the term ‘anomalies’ for now,” wrote another."
Time to fire the Genocide Deniers
Parks Canada staff doubted 'graves' at Kamloops school site: Emails : r/canada - "My best friend lives on one of the reserves up in kamloops that recieved the money. They bought a couple new pickups and pretended to be security guards for a couple years while paying out thousands to the "security guards/protectors" At least 2 million spent on "consultations" Maybe 1 million went to therapists/counselors The traditional school up there was actually one of the good ones. It was technically a day school so everyone went home at the end of the day. The people who lived at the school were orphans in the area that the band refused to look after. They had complete records and during operation the local bands always had members from the community working at the school."
"Careful now, suggesting that any of the residential schools were anything but genocidal torture factories will have you labelled as a "denier" and have some segments of our population suggesting you should be ostracized and locked up. I've witnessed a debate where someone tried to claim the intent behind the residential schools was good, even if the execution was abhorrent and inexcusable, and even that was apparently beyond the pale. Once the Secwepemc decided to make their archaeological and investigation processes private, that should've been the end of their federal funding for the project. Truth and reconciliation requires truth and openness, and if you want the average Canadian to pay for your expeditions, they have a right to know the truth you uncover. Considering the Secwepemc themselves have stopped referring to the anomalies as graves, and started talking about how the number of anomalies isn't about the number of graves, but symbolic of their people's suffering, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say they haven't found remains."
Blacklock's Reporter on X - "ICYMI - Access to Info #cdnfoi @CdnHeritage BC First Nation repeatedly told it did not qualify for grants. After claiming 215 graves, First Nation was deemed “priority client”and received more than $12.1 million. No remains have been recovered."
Parks Canada omits word 'genocide' in latest residential school designation - "In a notice of a plaque unveiling Thursday at Manitoba’s Portage la Prairie Residential School, managers acknowledged past assimilation policies without describing them as genocidal. “Built in 1915, the former Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School functioned within the Residential School system whereby the government and certain churches and religious organizations worked together to assimilate Indigenous children as part of a broad set of efforts to destroy Indigenous culture and identity and suppress Indigenous histories,” said the notice. The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission was the first to describe the system as “cultural genocide,” which was accepted by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who told the CBC: “I accept the Commission’s report including the fact they used the word ‘genocide.’” Prime Minister Mark Carney’s father was principal of an Indian day school in the Northwest Territories in 1965. Carney has not repeated the language since taking office March 14 or referenced allegations of schoolchildren’s hidden graves at Indian residential schools. In 2021 the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation of Kamloops, B.C., said it had discovered the remains of 215 children at a former residential school. But an internal Parks Canada memo on July 3 showed managers were skeptical of the claim based on ground-penetrating radar which “often throws up false positives,” wrote one consultant. “None of these sites have been investigated further to determine that they are graves.” No remains have been recovered to date though the First Nation received $12.1 million in federal funding for field work including “exhumation of remains.”"
RBC Introduces No-Fee Bank Account for Indigenous Peoples Across Canada
African ancestral acknowledgement the new City Hall fad - "Tate said that he’s been getting messages from City Hall insiders who say that staff are being told and pressured to open every meeting reading out both acknowledgements. It takes three to four minutes to read them both out loud. Add that up across all city staff, all city meetings and you get one very expensive and performative waste of time and money... According to a city document from February 2021, the practice at City Hall started in 2018 and has grown since then. It started out as “a voluntary recognition offered to support Black staff wishing to use it to acknowledge their ancestors of African descent who have been present and actively contributing to life on Treaty lands and traditional Indigenous territories since the early 1600s.” Now it is growing, expanding and seeping into all parts of the city’s administration. In addition to an ancestral acknowledgment for Black people, there is one for those who aren’t black as well... What is reparative justice? It’s a phrase the document that accompanies the statement doesn’t define. It’s also questionable that the city is trying to link Toronto, and by extension Canada, to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade of which there was little to no involvement, and also fails to acknowledge Canada’s role in eradicating slavery as an institution... The folks behind DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, will tell you this is about bringing people together, about reconciliation and about healing. It’s not. It’s incredibly divisive but at Toronto City Hall, this is the new religion being pushed by staff and an army of consultants pushing an agenda. “There is a burgeoning DEI bureaucracy at City Hall, and they inject their ideology into every department,” Tate said."
Calls increase for condemnation of OneBC leader over residential school photo - "OneBC party leader and Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie is defending herself and doubling down after a photo of her denying the deaths of children at Canada’s residential schools was circulated on social media. The image, taken in front of a sign in Penticton that references the 215 suspected unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School site, showed Brodie holding up a sign that said 'Zero Bodies.' “We were up in Penticton for a town hall and saw the sign there again. Then we posted the photo we had taken earlier, because there have been zero bodies found, and that gigantic sign is still showing the number 215,” Brodie said. The post drew criticism from the Penticton Indian Band. In a letter signed by Chief Greg Gabriel and sent to B.C. Premier David Eby, the band detailed its disgust and outrage. "To exploit our lands and our pain for political gain and messaging is unconscionable," said the letter. In response, Brodie escalated her position, saying, “This is the greatest lie in Canadian history. The Grand Chief and other chiefs have been caught red-handed. This is anti-Canadian disinformation.” The band’s letter urges Eby to condemn Brodie’s remarks publicly, demand a formal apology to the Syilx people and residential school survivors, and review her conduct in light of the province’s reconciliation principles. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Spencer Chandra Herbert backed the letter's demands. “We have to stand up against anti-Indigenous racism. We have to stand up against denialism. Residential schools happened, many kids did not come home,” he said... The letter from the Penticton Indian Band alleges her visit to the sign was an act of trespassing, something Brodie disputes. “The sign is right by a major highway. It’s a gigantic sign, and there’s no sign that says, ‘no trespassing,’ so I’m not sure what they’re talking about there,” she said. Herbert also addressed the emotional toll the incident has taken. “I feel bad for the Chief and Band members, that a member of this House would go to such lengths to spread hate,” he said."
Questioning left wing myths means you are a hateful racist bigot who hates indigenous people, and the media will gleefully proceed to slander you. Facts and fact-checking are only good when they push the left wing agenda
KLEIN: Indigenous spending tops $32 billion, accountability still lacking - "We are living in an era of historic spending on Indigenous priorities. The 2024–25 federal budget devotes nearly $32 billion toward programs and services. That level of commitment demands more than applause — it demands evidence and accountability. The question is simple: where is all that money going, and is it truly reaching the people it is meant to help? Federal Indigenous spending has nearly tripled since 2015, rising from about $11 billion to more than $32 billion today. Yet outcomes have not kept pace. A Fraser Institute report recently noted that improvements in Indigenous well-being remain modest and often stem more from national programs like the Canada Child Benefit than from targeted Indigenous spending. Meanwhile, the Yellowhead Institute estimated that less than 10% of federal Indigenous funding ever reaches communities directly. If that figure is accurate, most of the money is consumed by bureaucracy, administrative costs, and third-party contracts long before it touches the lives of those it’s meant to help. Yet we continue to hear stories of families without clean drinking water, homes in disrepair, and children in overcrowded classrooms. The spending extends beyond annual budgets. In recent years, Canada has agreed to a series of major financial settlements with enormous price tags. The federal government reached a $40 billion settlement on First Nations child welfare — half for improving services and half for compensating families. The Robinson Huron Treaty settlement alone was $10 billion, with about $5 billion going directly to First Nations for payout to individual members, ranging from $110,000 to $220,000 per person. Other class-action agreements have offered payouts between $20,000 and $40,000 per individual, with some receiving more. Ontario recently signed an $8.5 billion agreement to reform child and family services for First Nations, while another $23.34 billion settlement addressed underfunding in welfare programs. Add hundreds of millions held in trust funds, and the total soars to staggering levels... Too often, simply raising these questions is treated as taboo. But accountability is not an insult — it’s the foundation of trust. We expect businesses, charities, and governments to show how money is used. Why should Indigenous spending be exempt from the same standards? True accountability isn’t about blame; it’s about results. Consider Winnipeg’s Naawi-Oodena project, a large-scale urban development on the former Kapyong Barracks site. Treaty One Nations hold a majority share, with Canada Lands Company retaining the rest. Federal support totals only $5.5 million so far — a fraction of the project’s billion-dollar scale. A gas bar has opened, but key financial details such as lease revenues, reinvestment plans, and debt obligations remain opaque. This could be a model for Indigenous-led growth, but only if it operates transparently. Without accountability, doubt and distrust will linger."
Clearly, the problem is not enough money is being spent and anyone asking for accountability is racist and hates indigenous people
First Nation files lawsuit demanding Aboriginal title over lands in western Quebec : r/canada - "“The lawsuit is also seeking $5 billion in damages from Canada, Quebec, Hydro-Québec and the Crown corporation responsible for the National Capital Region.” Time to open up our wallets again…."
"Surely the untold billions that we have already thrown at this must have covered whatever obligations we may have had, that should be it now."
"Really the response to this should be gutting the annual funding if they’re going to keep taking the government to court."
"Indeed. “You just got awarded billions of dollars in court, looks like we can at least subtract that from your funding.” Honestly, if the insane amounts of money we already spend on this constantly isn’t sufficient, the only answer is close scrutiny as to how it is being spent and serious repercussions for embezzlement and waste. Not that our federal government is willing to even consider that either of course."
First Nation files lawsuit demanding Aboriginal title over lands in western Quebec : r/canada - "Actual question, how far do we go back? 100 years, 200 years, 500 years? Do we start asking FN tribes to provide financial support to other FN tribes that they went to war with and took over their land and killed their tribes in the past. Where is the line?"
Sarkonak: Even Americans are getting Canadian Aboriginal rights now - "It may surprise you, citizen reader, that there are Americans out there who hold deeper constitutional rights in Canada than you. It’s because they’re Indigenous, and because the Supreme Court decided in 2021 that they should receive special privileges. Now, despite being foreign, they’re using their newfound esteem in Canadian courts to intervene in what kids are taught in school. Earlier this month, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation — an American entity in Washington state — sued the B.C. government for excluding it from education-related consultations. It also sued the government for its policy of notifying (but not consulting) the reserve about future potential development projects... “Due to a constellation of factors related to colonization, many Sinixt people involuntarily and gradually shifted their residence to the southern portion of their traditional territory, south of what is now the international border, but did not give up their claim to their traditional territory in Canada,” reads the filing. The group was barely present in Canada in the early 20th century, and its official band was declared extinct in the 1950s. The Colville tribes are now arguing that B.C. isn’t reconciling hard enough... [R. v. Desautel] wouldn’t be ideal for Indigenous communities in Canada either, as they could now face overlapping claims from their American counterparts. Now, we have more to be concerned about, with B.C. being sued for not including American Indigenous people in local school board business. And though they may not succeed, they have a decent shot at drawing the matter out in the courts at great cost to taxpayers — when in an earlier age, we could trust that their lawsuit would be thrown out in the early stages."
Vancouver refuses to disclose cost of šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm St. rebrand, says info may 'harm' government, indigenous people - "The City of Vancouver has refused to reveal the cost of renaming Trutch St. šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm St., claiming doing so could "harm" the government and indigenous people."
The truth is harmful when you have something to hide
Transparency is Dangerous to Democracy
New hospital named Quw’utsun Valley Hospital (Quw’utsun Hulitun-ew’t-hw) : r/ilovebc - "It's nice to see stroke victim representation in the naming of our public healthcare institutions."
New hospital named Quw’utsun Valley Hospital (Quw’utsun Hulitun-ew’t-hw) : r/ilovebc - "They’re culturally appropriating our alphabet, they never had a written language."
Leader of upstart provincial party visits Kamloops, calls for end to Aboriginal title rights : r/ilovebc - "It’s funny but also depressing being privy to some of the dealings that go on with the First Nations our work interacts with. There are revenue sharing agreements, which is just basically a pay to play agreement whereby you must give the nation 5% of your gross revenue in order to work in their territory. In return they are supposed to help you get projects and promote your business. This part rarely happens because they just make the same agreements with everyone and just take in the money. I know for sure our company has paid millions to bands throughout the province and we are still competing with the same companies who also have the same agreements. We have done just as much revenue since signing the agreements but with much lower margins, barely making a profit now. It is nice to see the band members all driving brand new $100k trucks and knowing we paid for some of those."
Adam Pankratz: B.C.'s shameful race to give up public land - The NDP government is aggressively trying to give First Nations more powers over provincial lands — with next to no public input : r/InCanada - "They are Nations regardless of whether it's convenient for Canada or not."
"Well….that knife cuts both ways."
"Yeah, tell them no more health care, see what happens."
AITA for getting an aboriginal woman in trouble? : r/AmItheAsshole - "I (25F) am half black, half Canadian aboriginal. I am light skinned with 3A type hair. I look pretty black, hardly aboriginal. I spent my entire life defending myself to both the black community and the aboriginal community. I have to admit, I have always identified more with my black roots than aboriginal ones but since I now have a son whose father is full aboriginal, it’s very important to me to embrace both cultures. This is relevant. Recently, we went to a local store in our small Canadian town that sells handmade mukluks by the aboriginal community. We wanted to get some for all three of us. It was just my son and I in the store - my husband was not with us. I go up to the register and the cashier doesn’t greet me or even acknowledge me. She starts ringing up the mukluks, chucks the boxes in a bag and says “payment?” With a dirty look. I pull out my debit card and say “debit please”. She then mumbles under her breath “another one trying to steal our culture”. So I said “sorry, what?” And she says “yeah, you heard me. You’re just like the rest of them, coming here to steal what isn’t yours”. I immediately got upset because I AM aboriginal and I’m not stealing anything. This is just as much my culture as it is hers. I didn’t know what else to do, so I pulled out my treaty card from my wallet, put it on the desk, and said “I want to speak to your manager please”. She turned bright red and called another woman over. I explained what happened and said I wasn’t looking for anything except for comments like that to not be repeated. As I said before, I spent my entire life defending myself to BOTH communities i am supposed to be apart of. I also don’t feel like I need to justify why I’m buying mukluks. The manager basically said she would deal with it. I don’t know what happened to the cashier, if she got in trouble or not. But on the drive home I felt really embarrassed and now I feel like I’m TA and should’ve just ignored her and moved on with my day. So AITA for speaking to her manager and potentially getting her in trouble?"
Toxic cultural appropriation rhetoric strikes again, but this time it rebounded!
If it's wrong to "steal" culture, isn't it even worse to actively facilitate its "theft"?
Jamie Sarkonak: Treaties can't be relied upon to stop Alberta from leaving - "Various Indigenous leaders have complained vocally about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s roundabout way of engaging with the province’s separatist movement by making it easier for organized citizens to arrange for referendums. But the moment they have me nodding along in understanding, they pull their own sovereigntist card: arguing that the numbered treaties situated in Alberta are a higher, purer form of authority; that secession talk violates treaty rights; and that treaty land is literally their property and thus untransferable... Treaty land is by definition ceded land — it was surrendered in exchange for benefits provided by the Crown... First Nations aren’t sovereign — they’re Crown subjects like anyone else; provinces have a large degree of self-determination power, which is detailed in the constitution. The fact that UNDRIP validates the existence of Indigenous groups around the world doesn’t make other levels of human organization illegitimate... Their frustrations make sense. Constitutional protection and the stability of a long relationship with Ottawa and hammered-out expectations are worth a lot. Plus, it’s the federal government that provides funding and benefits while laying off on the thorny matters of financial disclosure. The current federal government has been generous in signing billion-dollar settlements, including one for $1.4 billion last year in Alberta... When Quebec was rushing for the exit, the Supreme Court in 1998 weighed in on the requirements for legitimate separation; the Indigenous issue was brushed upon only lightly, concluding it was “unnecessary to explore further the concerns of the aboriginal peoples in this Reference.” Scholarship has since tried to brainstorm what secession looks like on the Indigenous front, but it’s all speculation without the real thing, or at least, a real court decision that does explore the issue further. Bradford Morse, a legal scholar and former land claims negotiator who went on to become the dean of law at Thompson Rivers University, covered the what-ifs in a 1999 essay: it could be that Independent Quebec would inherit its treaties with the First Nations from the feds; it could be that Independent Quebec would have to re-negotiate them; or it could be something else. There were too many unknowns to be sure... Weighing in on Alberta, Dwight Newman, a constitutional law professor, Indigenous rights expert and Canada-Research-Chair-holder at the University of Saskatchewan, told me the treaties would raise “genuine issues” were the province to separate. “It would seem plausible that there could be a state succession to a treaty…. People generally haven’t suggested that Quebec would be incapable of separating due to treaties”... The most extreme parts of the Indigenous side have been arguing for ethno-sovereignty for years, embracing the freemen-on-the-land-like “land back” movement and urging for an expansion of unique treatment under Canadian law. They use UNDRIP, memetic news stories, and “reconciliation” as levers to pull for even more state benefits and permissions, and the current federal government almost never says no. Their exaggerated understanding of Indigenous sovereignty — on display in their statements about separation — and their hold on Canadian land is voraciously lapped up by our own media, which often presents these views without counterpoints, giving them the appearance of legitimacy. Sure, they claim to love the Crown now, but just wait until it’s convenient to once again blame it for all their woes."
Weird how "indigenous" objections are not endlessly cited as a reason Quebec can't leave, or how Quebec separatists aren't denounced as "traitors", much less those who pushed for Confederation
