Canadian birthday clebrations somber over finding of children's graves at residential schools

    Canada column for Sunday, July 4/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

   Canada Day celebrations on July 1 to mark the country’s 153rd birthday took on a somber note this year.

   That was as the country remembered the lives of hundreds of Indigenous children whose unmarked graves from years ago have been found around several former residential Indian schools.

   There’s a massive investigation now into Canada’s residential school system of boarding schools for Indigenous children with the goal of assimilating them into society.

   The horrors of the school became confirmed last month with the finding of the remains of 215 Indigenous children in at the Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia.

   Then another 751 graves were found on the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.

   In the past week, searching with ground-penetrating radar found 182 unmarked graves in a cemetery at the site of the former Kootenay Residential School at St. Eugene Mission in British Columbia.

   Celebrations for Canada Day were canceled in many places to honor the legacy of victims of the schools and Indigenous Peoples.

   The network of 132 schools was funded by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches, housed150, 000 children taken from their parents between 1857 and 1996.

   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent a quiet day with his family “remembering that others may be feeling pain and anger” over the findings.

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    Extreme heat and dry conditions led to the destruction of Lytton, British Columbia by a massive wildfire.

   The fast-moving blaze burned houses and businesses to the ground, leaving the village a smoldering ruin.

   The BC Wildfire Service said the wildfire has grown to cover 25 miles and was out of control when it overtook the village.

   An evacuation order led to 1,000 people fleeing to safety.

   Almost all buildings were lost in the village of 250 people with 1,700 living in the area, including the Mountie detachment, post office, hotel, ambulance service and clinic.

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    News in brief:

   - Four Canadians remain missing in the collapse of a 12-story condo building in Surfside, Florida. Canada's consul general in Miami, Susan Harper, did not provide information on their identities. She said two Canadian families were living there and someone from a third family was visiting at the time.

   - A Toronto police officer was struck and killed by a car in the parking garage at city hall what was called “an intentional and deliberate act.” Constable Jeffrey Northrup was responding to a call for assistance with his partner. A suspect has been arrested. Northrup was a police officer for 31 years and is survived by his wife, three children and mother.

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     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is steady at 81 cents U.S. and a U.S. dollar returns $1.23 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate remains at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 20,216 points and the TSX Venture index 962 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is higher at $1.36 a liter (Canadian) or $5.16 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (June 29) 6, 17, 22, 23, 32, 37 and 47; bonus 13. (June 25) 10, 13, 18, 33, 36, 45 and 47; bonus 22

   Lotto 6/49: (June 30) 9, 10, 13, 26, 28 and 30; bonus 36. (June 26) 15, 27, 36, 37 and 43; bonus 49.

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   Regional briefs:

   - Ontario, a Canadian province with 15-million people, is the only place in North America where indoor dining still isn't allowed due to pandemic rules. The trade association Restaurants Canada is angered over the provincial government’s reopening plan. It calls it “inadequate” and is asking that restaurants be fully reopened while casinos also remain closed.

   - Traffic was heavy as Nova Scotia reopened its border. It allows fully immunized people to visit just in time for the summer tourist season. The amended rules don’t enquire those immunized to self-isolate. Visitors from away are being required to complete a safe check-in form and provide proof of vaccine.

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com