Ontario coroner reviews cases of unidentified human remains for links to residential schools
The office of Ontario's chief coroner is embarking on a review of unidentified human remains found in the last four decades to determine if any are linked to former residential schools.
Dr. Dirk Huyer said that in many cases, his office has not fully investigated human remains when they are deemed to be more than 50 years old.
Huyer said he's been reconsidering that approach and now recognizes that his office may have missed identifying graves linked to residential schools in the province.
"Burials that may have occurred within the residential school period of time could be many years old," he said in an interview Tuesday.
"We are going to look back into our files to see if there are cases ... that are at or near residential schools."
He said the finding of unmarked graves near or at residential school sites across Canada earlier this year played a part in the decision to revisit old files.
"This summer, significant focus returned to that topic in what I believe is a national way, in a very significant way," he said.
Huyer said a team from his office will be examining findings that go back to the 1980s to determine if further investigation is required in any of the cases.
He said the team will also look for cases where an Indigenous child could have been buried outside grave sites near residential schools.
Remains of a child under the age of 14 were discovered near the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., in August of last year.
On Saturday, Brantford police said the remains are "not modern and do not have any forensic value" and added that no further investigation would be conducted by their officers.
Huyer said he has been working with the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation and their Survivors Secretariat on the Brantford finding.
In May, a First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., announced that ground-penetrating radar had detected what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children in unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.
Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan revealed a similar finding of more than 700 unmarked graves a month later.
Ontario has committed to spending $10 million over three years to identify, investigate and commemorate burial sites on the grounds of former residential schools in the province.
The funds will also go toward culturally appropriate supports for school survivors, their families and communities, and the entire process will be Indigenous-led.
The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified 12 locations of unmarked burial sites in Ontario. The province said there are likely more.
The final report from that commission detailed mistreatment at Canada's residential schools, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and more than 4,000 deaths at the institutions.
It reported known deaths of 426 children who attended schools in Ontario and an unknown number of children still missing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.