“The 'false' Kamloops claim is what got UNDRIP rushed through Canadian law.”
Brian Giesbrecht, Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Retired provincial-court judge; Senior Fellow, Frontier Centre for Public Policy · Feb 2024
The chronology makes this claim impossible. The UN General Assembly adopted UNDRIP on September 13, 2007 (resolution A/RES/61/295). Canada endorsed it in 2010 and fully in 2016 - years before Kamloops. Federal Bill C-15 was introduced on December 3, 2020 - almost six months BEFORE the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc announcement on May 27, 2021. The residential-school record itself is not in dispute: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 2015 final report, Volume 4, documented at least 4,118 named student deaths drawn from Indian Affairs records. Branding that record 'false' is residential-school denialism.
United Nations General Assembly · 2007-09-13[A/RES/61/295]
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada · 2016-05-10
Parliament of Canada - LEGISinfo (43rd Parliament, 2nd Session) · 2020-12-03
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada / National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation · 2015-12-15
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada · 2015-12-15
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First published: April 1, 2026