Facing boos in Kamloops, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues B.C. visit Tuesday

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Metro Vancouver Tuesday, and a much-anticipated housing announcement is top of the agenda.

Trudeau’s B.C. visit continues with several stops, including a visit to a food bank in the morning.  He will also discuss federal housing policy, in a region which has seen some of the highest prices for homebuyers in the country, as well as an affordability crisis for renters.

He will then meet with B.C. Premier John Horgan where the pair are set to discuss the 2025 Invictus Games, which has been awarded to Vancouver and Whistler with the support of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

The games are an international sporting event for military members, both serving and veterans, who have been wounded, injured or sick. Prince Harry, the Founding Patron of the games, says he is extremely excited that Canada has been selected to host the first-ever Hybrid Games which will have both summer and winter events.

Trudeau greeted by warmth, boos

It comes a day after Trudeau visited Kamloops, along with Governor General Mary Simon, to mark the sombre one year anniversary of the unmarked graves announcement.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc was the first to reveal the findings of a ground penetrating radar search at the site of a former residential, which woke Canadians to the dark chapter in history.

The prime minister, along with the public, were invited to attend by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, and Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir thanked everyone for attending and for the support.

“We thank and appreciate him for being here,” Casimir said, adding that everyone needs to work together to move forward.

Read more: One year since Kamloops unmarked graves discovery marked with sombre ceremony

However, not everyone welcomed the prime minister’s presence at the ceremony.

Some members of the crowd yelled “you’re not welcome here,” as the prime minister spoke to the large gathering, which included Elders and survivors.

“I had the opportunity earlier to speak to a number of Elders and I know for them it is something that they want to hear, me sharing my reflections, so I’d ask you – I hear your anger towards me, that’s fine but I ask you to respect your elders please,” Trudeau said, adding “thank you, I’m sorry for your anger.”

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Trudeau faced backlash in September after he took his family on a vacation to Tofino, B.C., instead of attending the first National Day of Reconciliation ceremony in Kamloops. He later apologized for the trip.

Trudeau also visited the community of Williams Lake in March, where he announced an additional $2.9 million in federal funding to the First Nation as it searches the site of the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School.

Read more: Trudeau announces $2.9M for Williams Lake First Nation investigation into potential burial sites

In January, 93 reflections, believed to be human burials, were detected on the grounds. Like Kamloops, only a small portion of the area has been searched to date, and the process is expected to be extensive and time-intensive.

More to come

With files from The Canadian Press