(Ottawa) The federal government has announced that the Canadian flag on the Peace Tower in Ottawa and all Government of Canada buildings will be hoisted at sunset on Sunday.
The flags will be flown at half mast on November 8, at sunrise, in honor of Indigenous Veterans Day, then hoisted to the top of the masts that evening at sunset.
On November 11, Remembrance Day, the flags will again be half mast at sunrise.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May called for the flag to be half-masted after the discovery of what are believed to be anonymous graves on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
The government has consulted with aboriginal groups on the idea of hoisting the flag before Remembrance Day, which has traditionally been half mast on that day.
Earlier on Friday, the Assembly of First Nations said it had found a solution that would allow the Canadian flag to be hoisted before Remembrance Day while continuing to honor the deaths of Indigenous children who died in residential schools.
In a statement, the assembly said it saw the need to honor veterans by lowering the flag on November 11 and also called for the flag to be lowered on Monday in honor of Indigenous Veterans Day.
The assembly also said they wanted the orange flag to fly alongside the Canadian flag until all children’s remains are collected and returned to their homelands – physically or symbolically – with an appropriate ceremony.