Minister won’t commit to criminalizing residential school denialism

OTTAWA — Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty was noncommittal Monday when asked about criminalizing residential school denialism after a group linked to white nationalism reportedly staged a demonstration in the B.C. interior over the weekend.

Roseanne Casimir, chief of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, said on Sunday a group of masked individuals dropped a banner from an overpass in Kamloops, B.C. The banner, with the words “Got bones?” appeared to be questioning reports of human burials at the former sites of residential schools.

The demonstration happened just days ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour the children who attended residential schools and to remember the ones who never came home.

“White supremacy will not instil fear in generations of survivors and intergenerational survivors who have already carried fear for far too long. Our people know what it means to live with fear imposed upon us by others,” Casimir said in a media statement Sunday.

“Yet we also know the strength, resilience and courage of our survivors, families, and community members. We have endured fear, and we will not be intimidated. We stand together, day after day and generation after generation, to ensure that this history is never repeated.”

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree was not made available for an interview. His office told The Canadian Press it had “nothing further to add at this time” and pointed to an online statement from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

In that statement, Carney called the demonstration “cowardly” and said it has no place in this country.

Anandasangaree’s spokesperson, Simon Lafortune, later said the minister has consistently and unequivocally condemned residential school denialism after being asked why Anandasangaree did not make a statement.

“The demonstration in Kamloops was deeply troubling, particularly in the days leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. There is no place for hate, white supremacy, or the harassment and intimidation of Indigenous Peoples and communities in Canada,” Lafortune wrote.

In May 2021, the First Nation announced ground-penetrating radar had uncovered what were believed to be 215 unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. That news made international headlines and led to the community being attacked online.

Some outside individuals brought shovels to the community to dig for the remains of children, and the First Nation was forced to increase security around the site of the former school.

More than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996. Thousands of children died in the institutions.

NDP MP Leah Gazan has a private member’s bill before the House of Commons which would criminalize as hate speech condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying residential schools. That is the language used to criminalize Holocaust denialism in the Criminal Code.

In a media statement issued Monday, Gazan said survivors deserve more than just words of condemnation for what happened in Kamloops on Sunday.

Chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations have called on the government to enact Gazan’s legislation on multiple occasions and passed a resolution to that effect in July, not long after the Liberals passed a new hate crime law.

Some senators tried and failed to amend that law to cover residential school denialism.

Some First Nations chiefs have asked the Liberal government to introduce a similar bill, which would be more likely to pass. Gull-Masty would not commit to that on Monday.

“While I acknowledge that the opposition is taking a position and trying to move something forward, that comes from them,” Gull-Masty said at an unrelated news conference in Ottawa.

“We have to be led by community to ensure that the decisions we make is truly reflective of what they want to receive in terms of support.”

She added that she is disturbed by the level of comfort the demonstrators exhibited.

In a social media post, the Assembly of First Nations said it strongly condemns the display of racism and hate in B.C.

“We call for a full investigation and for governments and Canadians to join us in pushing back against racism,” the statement said.

“There is no place for this in today’s society. We must stand together against ignorance, racism and lies, and stand up for First Nations rights, for truth and for reconciliation.”

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby and B.C. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson both condemned the banner drop, calling the actions of the demonstrators appalling.

Conservative MP Frank Caputo, whose riding includes Kamloops, on Sunday said the demonstrators engaged in “disgusting behaviour.” On Monday, he said in a post on X he had become even angrier in the hours since.

“Screw off. Go home. Never come back. Reflect on your poor decisions,” Caputo wrote. “These cowards refuse to show their faces. Not surprising given their odious message.”

Historian Sean Carleton called the acts horrifying but not surprising as residential school denialism continues to grow in the country.

Carleton, who is an assistant professor of history and Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba, said Canada has a long way to go on educating its citizens about residential schools.

He said the federal government has let the issue fester for too long.

“They need to make it clear — not just to Indigenous people, not just to survivors, but to all Canadians — what the government is doing to ensure that Canada’s progress on truth and reconciliation is not going to be derailed by 30 guys in masks,” he said.

“These are white supremacists who are targeting a community, intimidating them and using residential school denialism as a way to spread their message and gain recruits.”

Kamloops RCMP told The Canadian Press there is an ongoing investigation into Sunday’s event and called the demonstrators’ actions cowardly.

“The posting of a banner bearing the words ‘got bones,’ combined with the use of masks to conceal their identities while making such public statements is a cowardly attempt to avoid accountability for actions and messages that are clearly intended to intimidate, provoke fear and division,” Kamloops RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley said.

Pelley said the detachment is looking for more details about the event, and that those with information are encouraged to contact Kamloops RCMP.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press