The federal government has confirmed an uptick in arson attacks on churches and other religious institutions following claims of mass graves being discovered at a former residential school site located in Kamloops, B.C., in 2021.
According to data provided by cabinet in an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons on Sept. 16, there were an average of 43 police-reported arson attacks on places of worship from 2015 to 2020. The numbers went up significantly in 2021 when there were 90 arson attacks, followed by 74 attacks in 2022, the last year cited in the document.
In May 2021, Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation of Kamloops first announced that ground-penetrating radar had located the remains of 215 “missing children” on the site of a former residential school. The number of graves found at Kamloops was later revised to 200. The site has not been excavated and no remains have been uncovered to date despite a $7.9 million federal grant for field work….