Bowen Island joins communities across Canada in expressing our most heartfelt condolences to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc people and Indigenous communities across the country. We mourn the 215 children whose remains were found in the mass grave on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Our thoughts are with all Indigenous people who have been impacted by residential schools in Canada, recognizing that these effects carry on through generations of families and communities.
We acknowledge the grief, trauma and loss that has been caused by Canada’s residential schools and other colonial systems and policies that were enacted and supported by all levels of government, and we encourage all non-Indigenous residents to consider ways of building a more just, equitable and meaningful path forward for generations to follow. The devastating history and legacy of residential schools is one that all Canadians must learn and understand; we encourage Bowen Islanders to learn and understand the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In sorrow,
Mayor Gary Ander
Bowen Island Municipality