'We carry this pain in our DNA': Crowd gathers in Barrie to pay respect to Indigenous children found
Hundreds of people gathered near the spirit catcher in downtown Barrie, Ont., on Thursday to honour the children found in unmarked graves at former Canadian residential schools.
"We're here today to honour the children who died in residential schools and also to honour and pay our respects to those who didn't make it home," said Gary Johnston, a Barrie resident and organizer of the event.
Johnston led the sea of orange shirts up Simcoe Street and down Dunlop Street as drummers played along.
"We have to look outside and find accountability for what had happened. We are still looking for answers. We don't have those answers, and we carry this pain in our DNA," said Johnston.
Johnston and many others who walked in the march said they wanted to pay homage to family members who attended residential schools.
"It's about unity because history is changing. We're changing history," said Jared Bigcanoe a grandson of a residential school student.
Bigcanoe and Johnston both said that the support from non-indigenous people in recent weeks has been overwhelming, but more work still needs to be done to support the indigenous community.
"It feels amazing to feel the support. Online you don't feel that same support and you come out here and you feel the healing that is happening," said Bigcanoe.
Demonstrations took place across the province and country today.
At Parliament Hill, thousands of people gathered to "Cancel Canada Day" following the recent discovery of unmarked graves at three former residential schools.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.