The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC stands in mourning with the Tk’emlúps te Secwepémc Nation on uncovering the deaths of 215 Indigenous children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. In this horror and grief, we are reminded again of our country’s genocidal actions towards Indigenous peoples and the racist policies that were and are still perpetuated today, particularly towards Indigenous children and youth.

Words of sympathy are not enough. We add our voice to those calling for:

• municipal, provincial and federal governments to complete the implementation of all Calls to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Report and to comply with all orders of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal,

• the Canadian government to heed the advice of Dr. Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and stop fighting Indigenous children and residential school survivors in court,

• provincial and federal governments to fully fund implementation of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework for First Nations, Métis and Inuit families.

We hold ourselves personally and organizationally accountable to work on dismantling the racist and colonial policies that are still practiced today throughout British Columbia and Canada.

Download our letter to Prime Minister Trudeau here