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KAMLOOPS — The deaths of two pedestrians and injuries of two others on a First Nation in Delta, B.C., has marred what was to be day of recognition for the harms caused at Canada’s residential schools.
The Tsawwassen First Nation cancelled further events for the day after the deaths and injuries at the Tsawwassen Mills shopping centre, about 30 kilometres south of Vancouver.
Police said it’s believed the driver of a truck experienced a medical emergency.
British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby was at the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and told an audience that the collision is “very difficult news” during an “already challenging day.”
Eby said members of the Tsawwassen First Nations are asking for thoughts and prayers, as they are dealing with the incident, which police say does not pose an ongoing risk to public safety and may have been caused by a medical emergency.
“On a day already set aside for solemn reflection, a tragedy during the Tsawwassen First Nation Truth and Reconciliation event has shocked and saddened us all,” he says in a statement on social media.
Wednesday’s incident happened as politicians in British Columbia’s election campaign are marking National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, committing to work with Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging the past while taking steps for the future.
Eby says in a statement issued before the incident that British Columbians must reflect on and learn from the tragic legacy of residential schools.
He says that racism and residential school denialism persist, as evidenced on Sunday when white nationalists wearing masks showed up to the Kamloops-area reserve in what Eby describes as a “cowardly act of hate meant to frighten people.”
Eby says the case shows that there’s still much work left to do on reconciliation.
B.C. Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson says in a statement reconciliation means learning from the past and taking constructive steps for the future, and he’s committed to doing his part, including on economic reconciliation.
He says the national day is a time for reflection and encourages everyone to take part in events in their communities.
“We think of the Indigenous children, who attended residential schools, and of the families and communities affected by them,” Doerkson says. “We also think of the parents and grandparents who were affected.”
The provincial Greens, meanwhile, used the occasion to make specific policy promises.
The party says in a statement that it would remove the uncertainty and ambiguity that exists around the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, commonly known as DRIPA, by fully implementing it through legislation.
The Greens, led by Emily Lowan, also promise to enact legislation to guarantee Indigenous language rights and create a task force to investigate cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, children and two-Spirited people.
The Greens’ statement also calls on Eby to issue a formal apology around his government’s handling of DRIPA.
Lowan had said Tuesday that her heart goes out to Indigenous nations that oppose the multibillion-dollar LNG Canada 2 project that was announced earlier that day.
Eby had been invited to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation after the white nationalist demonstration happened on Sunday, and the New Democrat Leader says he wanted to be there in light of recent events.
Eby is calling on British Columbians to answer racism and intimidation by standing together, adding that standing shoulder-to-shoulder with survivors means reckoning with the truth of what First Nations’ children and communities went through.
“We must look at the darkest chapters of our past with open eyes, rather than turning away,” Eby says.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is also attending the same event at the Powwow Arbour on the reserve.
The First Nations Leadership Council issued a statement Tuesday condemning what it says is white nationalist activity on the reserve, and Regional Chief Terry Teegee called on the Canadian government to acknowledge residential school denialism as hate speech in the Criminal Code.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2026.
The Canadian Press
