Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said last Thursday that preliminary results of an investigation into the site of the former Kamloops Indian boarding school found the remains of 215 children.

On Monday, the leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, asked the Speaker to hold an urgent debate in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party said they would support this call, but Speaker Anthony Rota rejected the request. Liberal MP Mark Geretsen’s motion to hold a recorded debate today was passed unanimously in the House of Representatives.

The debate will begin in the House of Representatives after 6:30 and will last up to four hours. CBC.ca will broadcast the debate live.

Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir (Rosanne Casimir) stated that the federal government should take immediate measures to deal with the discovery of human remains.

Casimir said: “The federal government’s gesture of goodwill and support for this tragedy is all good.” “Tk’emlúpste Secwépemc and all affected communities and families have an important sense of ownership and responsibility. This needs to happen. And happen.”

Conservative Party leader Irene O’Toole said on Monday that he hopes the federal government will speed up its efforts to resolve some of the issues related to missing children and burial information in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“The Conservative opposition will support swift and immediate efforts to close families and communities and have time to recover,” he said.

Mass deaths of children: report

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) issued 94 calls to action six years ago after a long investigation of boarding schools and made six recommendations on missing children and cemeteries.

It called on the federal government to work with churches, Indigenous communities and former boarding school students to “establish and maintain an online registration form for boarding school cemeteries and, where possible, include a map showing the location of deceased boarding school children.”

AFN national director Perry Bellegarde said on Monday that in light of evidence that a large number of children died in boarding schools, the federal government must follow up in other boarding schools and try to “correct a huge mistake.”

Between the 1870s and 1996, more than 150,000 Aboriginal, Metis and Inuit children were placed in boarding schools.

Before releasing its landmark 2015 report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard moving and tragic reports of incidents involving indigenous children in boarding schools. Many children are physically and sexually abused in school.

At least 4,100 children died while attending these schools. TRC chairman and former senator Murray Sinclair said he believes the death toll may be higher due to poor burial records at the school.