The Globe and Mail, Canada’s most widely read newspaper, has admitted to a significant journalistic failure in 2021 regarding the reporting of alleged mass graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. In a recent editorial, the newspaper’s editorial board acknowledged that the claim of 215 children’s remains being discovered was an extraordinary assertion that required rigorous proof.
The editorial stated that in 2021, media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, failed to scrutinize the announcement by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, which declared confirmation of remains through ground-penetrating radar. The newspaper noted that historical crimes against Indigenous children at residential schools do not automatically validate unverified claims of missing remains or mass graves.
Over time, media outlets gradually shifted their language to refer to ‘possible or probable graves,’ but the lesson learned is that assertions about residential schools should be listened to carefully and then held up to scrutiny. The editorial also criticized politicians for making unverified comments, including former British Columbia Premier John Horgan and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who ordered flags lowered for over five months without factual basis.
The editorial highlighted that Ottawa has yet to account for hundreds of millions of dollars sent to First Nations to determine whether soil anomalies are human remains. The Globe and Mail’s admission has sparked mixed reactions, with some accusing the newspaper of fueling residential school denialism, while others applaud the acknowledgment of media bias.
