According to Prime Minister's Office (PMO) spokesperson Alex Wellstead, Justin Trudeau phoned Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir to apologize after travelling to Tofino to spend a time with family on Canada's inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The two spoke on Saturday, when Trudeau offered an apology. The Prime Minister's Office declined to provide further details regarding the specific contents of the apology, the Globe and Mail reported.
The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc confirmed early Sunday that Trudeau had apologized to Chief Casimir, but also declined to provide specific details. The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc extended a "heartfelt" invitation to the Prime Minister, to honour survivors and mourn the discovery of the remains of about 200 children at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in May, thrusting the legacy of residential schools and Indigenous reconciliation back into the national spotlight. Trudeau flew over Kamloops on his way to Tofino from Ottawa
Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was enacted as a federal statutory holiday with unanimous party vote in the House of Commons, based on a recommendation of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission to "honour survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation."
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs said in a statement Thursday that Trudeau's decision not to attend the event was an "arrogant dismissal" and a
"slap in the face" to residential-school survivors.
Members of Trudeau's cabinet struggled to defend his actions. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was tasked with defending the Liberal government's approach to Indigenous issues Sunday in light of the "Tofino Trudeau" incident, "The Prime Minister spoke with the chief at Kamloops on the weekend and he spent some time on Thursday also talking to survivors of residential schools to better understand the path forward, and their views on how the government can be a valuable partner," he said. "The Prime Minister attended a solemn ceremony on Wednesday evening in Ottawa to mark the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day, something that our government obviously brought about. On Thursday he also spoke with a number of survivors of residential schools. We certainly believe that the commitment to reconciliation is profound and is shared by all members of our government.”
At the end of the day, the question is whether Canadians, especially Canadians will choose to believe Trudeau's word or his actions.
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