NDP MPs Call for Investigation into Crimes Against Indigenous People

At a news conference on Parliament Hill, NDP MPs Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and Charlie Angus call on Justice Minister David Lametti to appoint a special prosecutor to lead an independent investigation into priests who are accused of committing crimes against Indigenous people in former residential schools across the country. They denounce the protection given by the Catholic Church to some of these individuals, several of whom now reside abroad, and demand that the prosecutor be empowered to subpoena documents from religious institutions as part of the investigation. Qaqqaq and Angus also insist that the government release all documents it possesses on residential schools and that material uncovered by the investigation be made public to further the truth and reconciliation process. (July 8, 2021)