Canada set to pay billions to Indigenous children removed from their families,

The statutory holiday came a day after a federal court upheld a 2016 ruling ordering the Canadian government to compensate Indigenous children who were placed into foster care. Thursday’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and the court decision highlight the history of discrimination and harm toward First Nations communities.

Thousands of mostly indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend residential schools between the 19th century and the 1990s. At least 150,000 Indigenous children from across the country were impacted, Trudeau said on Thursday.

In 2019, Trudeau said he and his government accepted the harm inflicted on indigenous peoples in Canada amounted to genocide, saying at the time that the government would move forward to “end this ongoing tragedy.”

The report detailed decades of physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered by children in government and church-run institutions.

Earlier this year, hundreds of Indigenous children’s remains were found at several sites, prompting calls from accountability from advocates and Indigenous people across the country.

Governor General of Canada Mary May Simon said Thursday that Canada’s “real history has been laid bare.”

“We acknowledge the grave abuses that were committed by some members of our Catholic community; physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and sexual,” the organization said in a statement. “We also sorrowfully acknowledge the historical and ongoing trauma and the legacy of suffering and challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples that continue to this day.”

Indigenous advocates had been calling for a formal apology from the Catholic Church and the Pope.

The organization said those requests have been heard and a delegation of Indigenous survivors, elders and youth is scheduled to meet Pope Francis in Rome in December.

Court backs ruling ordering compensation