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Tom Flanagan: Still no bodies 5 years after Kamloops 'mass burial site' was announced

The yet-unproven allegation spurred a campaign of national shame, drove calls to criminalize residential school 'denial'

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May 27, 2026, is the fifth anniversary of the announcement from the Kamloops First Nation, in which Chief Rosanne Casimir told us that ground penetrating radar (GPR) had located 215 previously unknown graves containing the remains of missing Indigenous children.

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Media, politicians, and academics uncritically accepted the story. The New York Times even amplified it by speaking of a “mass burial site,” making it sound like the outcome of a civil war. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the Canadian flag to be flown at half-mast on federal buildings for almost six months, an unprecedented display of public mourning. MP Leah Gazan persuaded the House of Commons to vote that the Indian Residential Schools constituted a genocide. The resolution had no legal effect, but the impact on public opinion was substantial.

Tom Flanagan: Still no bodies 5 years after Kamloops 'mass burial site' was announced Back to video

Despite all the hype,........

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