Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce calls on authorities take action and confront history of Residential Schools

The Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce joined the chorus of those calling for immediate action  from political and religious authorities in the days following the discovery of a mass grave at the site of the Kamloops Residential School property.

The Chamber's statement and commentary from President Michael Gurney brought the issue close to the North Coast community, noting of the many families that had been impacted by the Residential School program as well as to address Prince Rupert's own history when it came to relations with Indigenous people.

"Prince Rupert is home to Indigenous Elders and families whose lives have been irreparably scarred by the experience of residential and day schools. The demonstrations of sorrow by members of our community show that the wrongs committed in Kamloops reverberate in cities and souls well beyond its borders. 

As a business community cognizant of its own history of segregation and suppression affecting Indigenous people, we grieve the racism and cruelty that led to deaths at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Being discarded and forgotten by authority figures is an affront to the dignity of any human being"

The Chamber document also calls attention to the lack of action by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Federal government, with the Chamber to petition both to release any evidence related to the undocumented deaths.

The Full text of the Chamber of Commerce Statement can be explored below:

Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce statement
on the Kamloops Residential Schools Graves discovery
(click to enlarge)

Further notes from the Northwest Business Sector can be explored here.