(Montreal) The Mohawks of Kahnawake, in the suburbs of Montreal, voted in favor of the exhumation of the remains of a religious who allegedly committed sexual assaults.
Posted at 10:41 a.m.
The ballot took place on Friday and Saturday: 223 people voted for this measure, 193 opposed it.
For a spokesperson for the group which demanded the exhumation, Mélissa Montour-Lazare, this is a relief. She adds that the population will be able to begin their healing process.
Several inhabitants of the aboriginal territory had affirmed, last summer, that Father Léon Lajoie, had assaulted them. They demanded that his remains be removed from the soil of the community.
Father Lajoie, a Jesuit assigned to Kahnawake from 1961 to 1990, was buried there in 1999. His remains will be moved to Saint-Jérôme, in the Laurentians, to a cemetery of the religious order.
The vote took place after an independent investigation commissioned by the Jesuits failed to uncover formal evidence of assaults, according to the report published on February 28.
Brian King, the founder of investigative firm King International Advisory Group, said he expected more than two alleged victims to testify about it. The investigation should follow its course, he adds.