Brantford wants records released on former residential school
Brantford is calling for the federal government, provincial government and the Anglican Church to release all documents related to the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School in Six Nations.
City councilors unanimously supported the notice of motion at a special council meeting on Tuesday.
"Tonight's special council meeting is exclusively dedicated to a very import and emotional subject," said Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis.
In a media release, the city said it was asking for all three groups to "respectfully release to the Survivors' Secretariat immediately" their records.
That's the group that is coordinating search efforts to uncover unmarked graves near the former residential school.
"We are grateful to the City of Brantford for their support and advocacy of our mandate to create a community archive by collecting all related records from governments, churches and other institutions that were known to have been involved in the operations of the Mohawk Institute," said Kimberly Murray in the release.
It went on to say that Ward 5 Councillor Joshua Wall worked with the Survivors' Secretariat to draft the Notice of Motion.
"If the City of Brantford can release all records related to the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School, other levels of government can too, because survivors and the families of those who never came home deserve to know the truth."
Council also heard from three survivors at Tuesday's meeting. Dawn Hill, Geronimo Henry and Diane Hill shared their experiences at the residential school.
The city said a copy of the resolution will be sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Minister of Indigenous Services, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, as well as local MPs and MPPs.
The Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School was in operation from 1831 to 1970.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.