Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Friday condemned vandalism and suspected arson of churches following the discoveries of unmarked graves at former schools for indigenous children.
Around 150,000 indigenous Canadians were forced to attend the “Indian residential school system” over a period of 120 years, with most schools run by the Catholic church. A government commission concluded in 2015 that the school system perpetrated a “cultural genocide” against indigenous populations.
Since May of this year, over 1,100 unmarked graves of children have been discovered at the former schools. Ten Canadian churches were destroyed by fire following those discoveries, including several Catholic churches on indigenous lands in British Columbia.
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Mounties in Morinville say they were called to the fire at St. Jean Baptiste church around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday. https://t.co/Lz2GhWLKj4 pic.twitter.com/ee0IndSi9B
— CityNews Calgary (@citynewscalgary) June 30, 2021
