On Canada’s first official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as thousands of First Nations and allies gathered on traditional lands from Cowessess in Saskatchewan to Kamloops in B.C., sites where hundreds of unmarked children’s graves were discovered earlier this year, Justin Trudeau was out for a stroll on a beach in Tofino.
Video of the prime minister walking on the sandy shorelines of the popular West Coast tourist destination with his family surfaced on Twitter yesterday, despite an official itinerary that initially placed him in “private meetings” in Ottawa.
Trudeau’s office later amended the schedule and confirmed that he and his family flew to Tofino on Vancouver Island on Thursday, September 30, but claimed the trip was not a “vacation,” rather a chance for the family to reconnect on a day of reflection.
Spokesman Alex Wellstead told CTV News that the prime minister spent “hours” on the phone with survivors of residential schools “to hear their stories of trauma and healing, to hear their advice on the path forward.” Wellstead also told the media outlet that Trudeau “wasn’t on a beach.”
In a statement released on Thursday, Trudeau encouraged Canadians to “reflect on the painful and lasting impacts of residential schools in Canada, and to honour survivors, their families, and their communities.” But prominent members of those communities have expressed disappointment with how the prime minister personally chose to honour survivors by declining multiple invites to a gathering in Kamloops, near where 215 unmarked children’s graves were recently discovered.
“TrudeauInTofino” began trending on Twitter as comments on the prime minister’s ill-timed beach trip came in from fellow politicians, First Nations leaders and ordinary citizens. The majority of the feedback has not been positive.
Others found the coverage of how one politician spent his time to be a distraction from the day’s actual purpose of honouring the lost, the survivors and their communities.
Word is today’s official itinerary for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is as follows: “Tofino, British Columbia. Personal.”
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