Premier Andrew Furey says government will support whatever plan Indigenous leaders come up with regarding unmarked burial sites in the province.
His comments follow word that Alberta has set up a grant program to explore potential burial sites and to gather research from elders.
The grants could also be used to retain experts to work with community leaders on how to properly proceed with a burial site.
Furey says the issue was discussed again at last week’s meeting with the province’s Indigenous leaders.
He says he reiterated government’s support for the path they choose.
Furey says once the leaders come to a consensus on the approach they want to take, government will be there to support it, whether it’s financial, emotional or in the form of infrastructure.
While the House adjourned yesterday for the summer, Furey says government will be proceeding with legislation around the Coat of Arms and Red Indian Lake in the fall.
MHAs are scheduled back in the House on October 18th.
Meanwhile, a First Nation in southern Saskatchewan held a virtual news conference yesterday morning about what it calls the horrific and shocking discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.
The Cowessess First Nation says the number of unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School will be the most substantial to date found in Canada.
The First Nation and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations say the community and school site about 160 kilometres east of Regina are closed.