‘Unacceptable and wrong’: Trudeau says vandalizing churches can hurt those seeking ‘solace’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is speaking out against multiple acts of vandalism that have taken place across Canada, from the burning of churches to red paint being splattered across buildings and toppled statues.

“It is unacceptable and wrong that acts of vandalism and arson are being seen across the country, including against Catholic Churches,” Trudeau said, speaking at a press conference on Friday.

“I understand the anger that’s out there against the federal government, against institutions like the Catholic Church. It is real and it’s fully understandable, given the shameful history that we are all becoming more and more aware of and engaging ourselves to do better as Canadians.”

The vandalism follows the discovery over 1,100 unmarked graves at former residential school sites across the country — though the motive for many of these acts has not yet been firmly established.
Last week, Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan said that a ground-penetrating radar detected an estimated 751 unmarked graves at the site where the Marieval Indian Residential School once sat. The news came not long after the remains of 215 children were found at another former residential school site in Kamloops.

Just one day before Canada was set to celebrate its national pride on July 1, the Lower Kootenay Band said a search using the same ground-penetrating radar technology found 182 human remains in unmarked graves near a former residential school site in Cranbrook, B.C.

— More to come..