Ottawa City Hall lowers flags in memory of Kamloops residential school children

By Jason White

The flags at Ottawa's city hall have been lowered to half-mast, in memory of the 215 children whose bodies were discovered at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

The remains of the children — some believed to be as young as three — were found with the help of ground-penetrating radar. The local First Nations chief said it's believed the deaths are undocumented.

The federal government and several other municipalities are also lowering their flags in memory of the 215 children.

The flags at Ottawa City Hall will be lowered to half-mast, beginning at sunrise on Monday, May 31, and remaining there for more than a week. The city says the length of this period of mourning reflects one hour for every child whose life was lost.

The flags will remain at half-mast until sunset on Tuesday, June 8.

A memorial for the children also grew at Ottawa's Centennial Flame over the weekend, with flowers and shoes representing the dead placed on the monument.  

Residents of Canada, also referred to as Turtle Island by some First Nations people, are being asked to place a teddy bear on their doorstep at 6 p.m. Monday, and leave their lights on to honour the dead. 

A national residential school crisis line is available to former residential school students and those affected at 1-866-925-4419. 

– with files from The Canadian Press

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