TORONTO -- Hundreds have gathered in downtown Toronto Sunday afternoon to remember the victims of Canada's residential school system and demand justice for them.
The demonstration, which began at Queen's Park, is being held in honour of the 215 children whose remains were found buried at a former residential school site in British Columbia.
Kiyana Johnston, a great-granddaughter of a residential school survivor, wants justice for the “atrocious” acts done against Indigenous people. And she said that means more than an apology.
"I don't agree with an apology because there's so much more residential schools that need to be digging up, and there's so much more bodies that need to be found," Johnston said.
"Those families need to get their closure and their justice for their son or daughter."
Being related to someone who suffered because of the residential system, Johnston said it comes with a lot of emotion, grieving, hurt and anger. She said there needs to be accountability now.
Johnston is also calling out Canadians who say they support Indigenous rights but aren't putting it to action.
"Where are you? We're here today gathering for the 215 children," Johnston said. "You can be here too. You can become one of these allies."
Brianna Olson-Pitawanakwat, one of the protest organizers and an intergenerational survivor, said many residential school survivors are at the demonstration.
"I think this is just a beautiful opportunity for our communities to come together and commemorate those children and to gather and find some healing in an incredibly sad situation," Olson-Pitawanakwat said.
She believes that healing can only happen if there is a complete admission of the truth. And Olson-Pitawanakwat said it begins with the government, the Catholic Church, and other groups who played a role in building the system.
"I think the best thing that this federal government can do is to stop fighting survivors and stop fighting against uncovering that truth," she said.
"Give all the documents up. Give all of the capacity for these schools to be searched and for more bodies of children to be found, and finally lay to rest in a proper way."
People carried signs, including a large banner that read, 'This land belongs to our children,' and chanted 'no peace on stolen land' as they marched through downtown streets. The demonstration then made its way to Ryerson University, where they joined a sit-in in front of Egerton Ryerson's statue.
Students and professors from the university have renewed their call for the statue and the school's name to be changed, as Ryerson was one of the many figures who contributed to the creation of the residential school system in Canada.
Sam Howden, one of the sit-in organizers and a member of the university's Indigenous Student Association, said the event allows the community to hold space and grieve together.
"I'm hoping that this continues," Howden said. "I don't want this to be picked up moment by moment. I would like this to be a sustainable thing where we see change at the institutional level – to take away the name, to take away the statue, and have a larger conversation about colonial violence and white supremacy in this country and start doing those mechanisms."
Last week, students and professors swapped their email signatures from Ryerson to 'X University' as they push for the changes.
Ryerson's statue was doused with red paint and marked with graffiti in the wake of discovery of the unmarked burial site. Children's shoes, representing residential school victims, were also laid down in front of the statue.
In a statement, the university said the task force they created to look into the legacy of Ryerson is committed to delivering a final report before the fall semester.
In a tweet, Toronto police said, “While we appreciate that recent events have had a traumatic impact, we cannot tolerate acts of vandalism/violence. Officers will be on site to ensure the safety of everyone involved and will investigate/enforce as necessary.”
Howden said what was done to the statue was not vandalism.
"It was not some kind of criminal act. It was to bring attention to the violence that has been endured by many different folks because of Egerton Ryerson," Howden said.
Mass held for the 215 children
The archbishop for Toronto held a mass Sunday morning to remember the children. In an interview with CP24 after the service, Cardinal Thomas Collins apologized for what happened.
"I think we're all so sorry that this event happened, this whole system was put in place. And I think we as Christians need to be particularly regretful and sorry and concerned that we took part in that system because it was a government program that really was very much centralizing and all that. It took little children away from their families," Collins said.
"You can't read minds to the past, but I don't know what the religious groups, the Catholic groups and others were thinking. They probably wanted to advance their mission but to be involved in something that took kids away from their families. That's everything we stand for is the family and those poor kids were taken away. So, I'm just so sorry that happened."
He also called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comments “unfair” and not very helpful in moving the process of reconciliation forward. Collins added that the church had previously apologized to the Indigenous community for its role in the residential school system.
Last week, Trudeau said he was disappointed as a Catholic that the church for failing to take responsibility for its part in the residential school system and urged the Vatican to release the documents it has. Collins said the prime minister's statements were based upon "misunderstandings or misinformation."
"The parts of the Catholic Church that ran the residential schools have been very engaged. The whole Catholic Church in Canada has as well in the path of reconciliation and expressing our sorrow for that and in building over time things like the work of reconciliation with the whole community," he said.
Collins noted that if the church has additional records on Canada's residential schools, then they should be shared.
"I think much of it has, as far as I know. They've been shared, but if they haven't, they should be," he said. "It's as simple as that."
Collins is urging Trudeau and his government to work with the church in its work with the Indigenous community.
"And I think it's important for the government to step up to its own responsibilities. We've been trying to do so. We stumble and fall, but we've been trying to do so. And I think it is unfortunate for the prime minister to be making this kind of an attitude to the efforts we've been making."
Meanwhile, during his remarks in front of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis expressed his pain over the discovery of the remains but did not offer an apology.
- with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
Toronto demonstration being held to remember victims of residential schools, demand justice - CTV Toronto
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