Feds looked to international missing persons commission for help on unmarked graves
The Canadian government approached an international commission that helped identify the remains of those killed during 9/11 and the Lac-Megantic rail disaster to potentially aid its response to the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
A spokesperson for the International Commission on Missing Persons confirmed Monday that the federal government had approached it for support,but said it had no further information to provide and didn't specify when the outreach happened.
Headquartered in The Hague, the organization works in different countries to help identify people who have gone missing or been killed in major conflicts and disasters using DNA testing. It also helps governments and institutions shape policies related to such issues.
Andreas Kleiser, the policy director for the International Commission on Missing Persons, confirmed the organization has been speaking with officials from the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations, including recently. organization, confirmed
"We checked in on developments," Kleiser said in an interview Tuesday.
He said going ahead would depend on factors such as funding and "buy in" from Indigenous communities.
Over the past year, First Nations across Western Canada have announced the presence of what are believed to be the unmarked graves of Indigenous children who died while forced to attend residential schools.
At least nine communities have reported discovering 1,685 such graves, according to government statistics provided in May.
Ottawa has committed to providing money and resources to the First Nations to investigate the discoveries.
The federal government also appointed Kimberly Murray, a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation in Quebec and a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to serve as an independent special interlocutor.
Murray was tasked with recommending policy changes and identifying options to protect and preserve the sites.
She said that while the commission does valuable work, the fact the federal government had been inpreliminary discussions with it raised some concerns because it's unclear if the request for their involvement came from Indigenous communities themselves, which she says must lead the process.
"We're speaking about Indigenous children in these graves," she said in an interview Monday.
"We're talking about Indigenous communities. We have Section 5 constitutional sovereignty rights. It's a little bit of a different approach that needs to happen with these investigations."
Murray added that while planning for a recent conference in Edmonton, the federal government asked if her office was interested in hearing from the commission.
In a statement late Monday, the office of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said "there is currently no contract in place" between the department and the missing persons commission, but did not address discussions between the two.
"I would hope that if Canada is engaging in any kind of contract with the commission to do any kind of work that they would have discussed it with Indigenous leadership and survivors," Murray said.
"How does their work incorporate Indigenous law?"
Some details on Ottawa's thinking around possibly turning tothe commission are contained in an undated briefing note prepared for the deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, which was released to The Canadian Press under federal access-to-information legislation.
Titled, "Contracting the ICMP (International Commission on Missing Persons) for Engagement Services,)" the heavily-redacted document says the government has heard "repeated calls by Indigenous leadership to develop a national strategy to address the identification of unmarked graves and repatriation of human remains."
It says communities have made it clear that Ottawa can't be involved. Successive Canadian governments funded and oversaw the residential school system, though churches operated the institutions.
"The first step in developing this strategy is engagement," the briefing note reads, saying the commission has "expertise exclusively focused on addressing the complex issue of the identification and repatriation of human remains."
"As an arm's length international organization, the ICMP has a reputation as a trusted interlocular with a strong reputation for independence and impartiality."
It goes on to list how the organization worked with Quebec authorities to help identify some of those killed in the 2013 Lac-Megantic disaster, when nearly 50 were killed after the downtown derailment of train cars carrying crude oil.
More recently, the organization says on its website that it has been tapped to help in Ukraine, where thousands of civilians have been killed or gone missing since Russia launched its invasion in February, and where recent mass gravesites have already been found.
Murray said it is critically important that investigations into unmarked graves remain independent of the Canadian government.
"It's the state police, the state government, that caused the problem that we're currently trying to investigate our way out of," she said.
Murray has independently pursued outside expertise, including during the recent conference in Edmonton.
Her office invited the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala, which has helped communities set up labs to investigate and try to identify the remains of those killed in its civil war.
The organization has specific experience working with Indigenous communities, Murray said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
An explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran kills at least 33 workers
An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 33 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday, marking one of the worst mining disasters in the country's history as others remained missing hours after the blast.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Trudeau to attend United Nations General Assembly amid turbulence around the world
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to be in New York this week for the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future amid increasing geopolitical instability around the world.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up, according to new research
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
4 killed and multiple people wounded in Birmingham late night shooting, Alabama police say
Four people have died and more than 20 were wounded in a shooting in a nightlife area in Birmingham, Alabama, according to police and news reports.
Challengers make gains in banking, but it's a long road to higher market share
It’s not easy going up against Canada’s banking oligopoly, but some are trying.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
Luck of the draw: N.L. ads to be featured in match against football giants Chelsea
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.