Mississauga dimming City Hall clock tower in memory of residential school victims

The City of Mississauga will dim the lights on the clock tower at city hall tonight (June 30), in memoriam of the 182 Indigenous children whose remains have been found at the site of a former residential school in eastern British Columbia.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie announced the decision on her Twitter account.

“I grieve for the thousands of children who never made it home from residential schools (and) survivors who live with so much pain,” Crombie wrote.

On Tuesday, the Lower Kootenay Band said a search using ground-penetrating radar has found remains of 182 people in unmarked graves at a site close to a former residential school. It is believed the remains are those of people from the bands of the Ktunaxa nation.

Message from Ktunaxa Nation (Lower Kootenay Band): 182 human remains located in unmarked graves at St. Eugene's Mission Residential School. pic.twitter.com/x4SLkdFhSv

— Veldon Coburn (@VeldonCoburn) June 30, 2021

Creston, B.C.-based Lower Kootenay Band says ground-penetrating radar has detected 182 unmarked graves near the St. Eugene's Mission school, which is now a golf and casino resort. Images from the resort webcams. https://t.co/aYYmfmaGe9 #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/2k7icD3ZgI

— Bob Mackin (@bobmackin) June 30, 2021

Cowessess First Nation said on June 24 that ground-penetrating radar had detected 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School east of Regina. On May 27, what are believed to be the remains of 215 children were found at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

Mississauga is planning a “somber” Canada Day ceremony on Thursday, where the tower will be lit in orange “to remember those lives lost and changed forever as a result of residential schools.” Councillors have also approved a motion to calls on the Canadian government to stop its appeal of the 2019 Human Rights Tribunal Ruling that orders Ottawa to pay compensation to First Nations children and their families.

Both Durham Region and St. Catharines have said they will not host Canada Day events on Thursday.

— with files from The Canadian Press

People who need emotional support or assistance can contact the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free at 1-800-721-0066. The society also offers a 24-hour crisis line at 1-866-925-4419.