Canadian Parliament building (photo by Igor Shtygashev, courtesy Deposit Photos)
A new national monument will be built on Parliament Hill to commemorate survivors and victims of residential schools.
The monument is one of the calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The site, selected by a survivor-led committee the government created in 2022, was announced Tuesday in Ottawa.
No artist or design team has been selected.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said the monument is a "significant" step toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
"So near to the House of Commons, it will serve as a constant reminder to parliamentarians that the policies and laws they create, debate, legislate and enforce have consequences," she said in a speech.
The last residential school closed in 1996. The commission, which made its final report in 2015, called the government-supported residential school system cultural genocide. Thousands of children are believed to have died on the premises of schools across the country.