In response to the devastating confirmation of unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools in Canada, a statement was published, in consultation with the National Indigenous Ministry Council, and signed by the current and previous Moderator of General Assembly. It speaks, through repentance and lament and in humility, for the lives of all the children who were lost and makes many commitments for the church to act upon.
Dr. Allyson Carr, Associate Secretary of Justice Ministries, has written on the death of Joyce Echaquan, an Indigenous woman in a hospital in Quebec, and the racist words that were spoken to her by the hospital workers she was in the care of—words which illuminate the unacceptable and condemnable behaviour that is often permitted in our society as a result of systemic racism.
This reflection by the moderator speaks to the importance of participating in Orange Shirt Day on September 30 to remember and honour the Indigenous children who attended Indian Residential Schools, and reflects on the PCC’s involvement in the Residential School System and its inter-generational impacts on Indigenous children today.
Following the recent deaths of Indigenous people during encounters with law enforcement, the PCC calls for an immediate end to violence against Indigenous Peoples.
