PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau om Wednesday spoke with British Columbia Premier John Horgan to discuss the horrific discovery around the former Kamloops Indian Residential School of the children whose lives were taken, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Trudeau expressed his deepest condolences to the survivors and their families. Trudeau and Horgan noted that this preliminary discovery in Kamloops is part of a larger tragedy and that, from coast to coast to coast, many children forced into the residential school system disappeared without a trace.

The two leaders spoke about the work both governments are doing to move forward on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, notably Calls 71 to 76 and the $27 million in federal funding announced by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Carolyn Bennett, on Wednesday to support Indigenous communities and partners in locating and memorializing children who died at residential schools.

Trudeau and Horgan spoke about the ongoing challenges and systemic racism Indigenous peoples face. They both also committed to ensuring their work on reconciliation is centred around cultural practices and driven by local Indigenous communities.