Flags are flying at half-staff outside of many buildings in the London region.
Mayor Ed Holder ordered all flags outside of city hall lowered over the weekend in memory of the 215 children whose remains were discovered recently on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.
The London Police Service, London Fire Department, and Middlesex-London Paramedic Service have also lowered flags outside of their buildings.
"We mourn this horrific loss," the fire department said in a tweet with an accompanying photo that showed the flag at half-staff outside of its headquarters at Horton and Colborne streets.
The Thames Valley District school board (TVDSB) lowered the flags at all of its schools and the education centre as of Monday morning. The flags will remain at half-staff for 215 hours, which works out to nine days.
"Thames Valley extends its sympathies to survivors, families, Indigenous Nations, and all those affected by this tragedy," the school board said in a statement.
In addition to lowering flags, the school board has asked all of its schools to change the message on exterior signs to read "215+ Lives Lost, Every Child Matters.”
The sign outside of South Ridge public school in Tillsonburg. Photo from the Thames Valley District school board.
School staff and students are also encouraged to wear orange this week and to stand for a moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. on Monday.
The Kamloops school, which was the largest in Canada's residential school system, operated between 1890 and 1969. It was run by the Catholic Church.
The remains of the 215 Indigenous children, some as young as three-years-old, were confirmed buried on the grounds of the school using ground-penetrating radar. The Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation publicly announced the shocking discovery last Thursday.
"Given the size of the school, with up to 500 students registered and attending at any one time, we understand that this confirmed loss affects First Nations communities across British Columbia and beyond," Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said in the statement. "We wish to ensure that our community members, as well as all home communities for the children who attended are duly informed. This is the beginning but, given the nature of this news, we felt it important to share immediately. At this time we have more questions than answers. We look forward to providing updates as they become available.”
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc is working with the B.C. coroner and taking measures to ensure that the locations of the remains are protected.
A preliminary report on the findings is expected to be completed by mid-June.