Ottawa has sealed all progress reports connected to the federally funded search for the alleged graves of 215 children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, citing confidentiality to block public access to documents detailing how the money was used and what was actually found.Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations refused an Access to Information request for the records, saying the reports submitted by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation were protected under the Access to Information Act as confidential third-party information. The decision effectively shuts down scrutiny of a project that received $12.1 million in federal funding for what Ottawa described as the “exhumation of remains” and forensic DNA testing.The First Nation announced in 2021 that ground-penetrating radar had detected what it described as the graves of 215 children buried in an orchard near the former residential school. More than four years later, no human remains have been recovered..As a condition of the funding, the First Nation was required to file regular Activity Progress Reports with the federal government. Blacklock’s Reporter requested copies of those reports to determine what work, if any, had been carried out. The department rejected the request, invoking section 20.1.b of the Act, which restricts release of financial, commercial, scientific or technical information treated as confidential by a third party.The department did not explain why the reports were deemed confidential, despite the original claim about the graves being publicly announced in a news release and widely cited by politicians, media and activists.Internal federal correspondence obtained separately shows that other agencies were privately skeptical of the claims from the outset. In internal emails, Parks Canada staff questioned whether the radar findings supported repeated references to “graves” or “burials.”.“Authors refer to the 215 ground-penetrating radar hits that were reported in 2021 as ‘graves’ or ‘burials,’” wrote a Parks Canada consultant in one email.“But none of these sites have been investigated further to determine that they are graves.”The consultant warned that ground-penetrating radar frequently produces false positives. “Ground-penetrating radar often throws up false positives, anomalies that are not indicative of anything significant,” the email said, recommending the sites be described only as “possible,” “probable” or “likely” graves until further investigation occurred.By 2024, even that language was viewed as too strong. .Senior staff cautioned internally that radar data does not establish the presence of unmarked graves at all.“The challenge is that ground-penetrating radar does not provide evidence of potential unmarked graves,” one staff email stated. “It provides evidence of anomalies. I am quoting the archaeologists here.”In another exchange, a manager suggested avoiding the terminology altogether. “Regarding the topic of ground-penetrating radar, I’ve made a suggested revision,” the email said. “It might be preferable to not use the term ‘anomalies’ for now.”Staff were also advised to “stay extra quiet” while Parks Canada moved ahead with the designation of the Kamloops residential school as a national historic site, despite the unresolved questions surrounding the original grave claims and the absence of any recovered remains.
