Trudeau waffles when asked if Canada exists on stolen land
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Kamloops on Monday as an invited guest of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc as the First Nation marked the first anniversary of the confirmation of 215 unmarked graves on the site of a former residential school.
Trudeau received a mixed reception as he arrived and made his way through the large crowd while flanked by several members of his security detail.
There were many well-wishers who greeted the prime minister warmly and asked to take selfies with him.
But he was also followed closely by a boisterous crowd of singers and drummers who wanted to get their own message across.
“Canada is all Indian land!” they sang while loudly beating their drums. “RCMP has no jurisdiction!”
Trudeau mostly ignored the group which also sang “We don’t need your constitution!”
But in brief remarks from the podium, the prime minister spoke directly to those singing the protest songs about stolen Indigenous land, telling them he understands their anger while trying to redirect the focus of the event back to the missing children.
“I hear you. This is about remembering those we lost. This is about gathering and reflecting on where we are, and mostly where we need to go all together,” he said.
At a news conference later in the evening, CTV News asked Trudeau if he believes Canada exists on stolen Indigenous land and he did not provide a definitive answer.
“Canada is a country that consists of Indigenous people who have been here for millennia, who welcomed in settlers in some cases and were overrun by settlers in others,” he said. “But we’re a country that exists today with a commitment to always learn from the past and always do better.”
Trudeau’s response to the question lasted more than 90 seconds but his answer was ambiguous and it is still not clear whether he believes First Nations had traditional territories they had occupied for thousands of years stolen from them.
“There’s no question that we can go back to the past and see all sorts of terrible things that happened…The story of Canada is the story of people coming together to build a better future for themselves and for their kids than they could gave imagined a generation before,” he concluded.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.