After losing their bid to stop construction at the site of a former Montreal hospital, a group of Indigenous women who believe there could be unmarked graves there say they fear the evidence could be compromised if work continues.
Workers want to move piles of material – without sorting it – that were excavated from an area where sniffer dogs indicated remains might be located, a spokeswoman for the group known as “Mohawk mothers.”
Moving these materials without first analyzing them risks making it more difficult to find potential bodies at the site, where McGill University is expanding its downtown campus, said Kwetiio, who uses only one name.
“You want to get remains that need to be examined, that need to be investigated and you just want to pick them up and throw them on a truck and move them somewhere else,” she lamented. Well, what happens if you find something in that pile somewhere else? You will have already started your construction here, putting the evidence there at risk. »
Last month, the “Mohawk Mothers” failed to obtain an emergency court order to stop excavations on part of the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital, where a psychiatric institute operated. The Government of Canada is named in a class action lawsuit filed in 2019 that alleges the state funded abusive psychiatric experiments – part of the infamous MK-ULTRA program – on vulnerable patients at the institute in the years 1950 and 1960.
Kwetiio recalled that people who were at the psychiatric hospital saw children tied to beds and chairs and that the remains of these children may have been buried at the site.
An honored agreement
The Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), which is overseeing the campus expansion project, said the piles are being moved at the request of archaeologists, who want to sort the materials in a safer, quieter location, out of the way. work in progress.
“The earth is moved one pile at a time, to avoid mixing. One archaeologist supervises the loading of the truck, while another supervises the unloading. Each pile is clearly identified and a priority screening procedure is developed,” spokesperson Anne-Marie Gagnon wrote in an email Monday, adding that the piles are covered with weather-resistant material to protect them from the elements.
The SQI and McGill University claim to honor an agreement reached with the “Mohawk Mothers”.
“Cultural monitors appointed by the ‘Mohawk Mothers’ had access to the site for all phases of the work,” McGill spokesperson Michel Proulx wrote in an email on Monday. “To date, no evidence has been found to support the presence of unmarked graves. »
Kwetiio insists that McGill and the Quebec infrastructure agency are not acting in good faith. She says McGill and the province have committed to thoroughly searching, within a 10-metre radius, areas where sniffer dogs have reported human remains might be found – but that’s not happening.
“We are being prevented from carrying out a proper investigation,” she said.
The group also wants to search a building within a 10 meter radius, due to the possibility of remains being found in the basement.
Lamented lack of communication
An observer affiliated with the “Mohawk Mothers” recently discovered what appears to be the leather sole of a child’s shoe, according to Kwetiio. When the shoe was returned, the mothers were informed – much to their surprise – that bones had also been discovered.
“We are not told when the things will be found,” she stressed, adding that she had not been given any details about where the bones were or whether they were human or animal.
McGill says that according to a bioarchaeologist who excavated the site, the remains found were animal bones.
“The archaeological firm also confirms that it does not consider that any of the objects discovered during the excavations constitute significant discoveries nor that they constitute evidence of human remains or graves,” added Mr. Proulx.
Archaeological digs were carried out in the area where dogs identified the possibility of human remains, as well as in nine other areas where ground-penetrating radar suggested the possible presence of unmarked graves, he said. No other evidence of remains or graves was found.
The Mohawk Mothers’ legal action against McGill and the province began in March 2022, when they filed a civil action to stop construction. Last October, they obtained an injunction ordering a pause in excavation work, as a judge ruled that the renovations would cause irreparable harm. After several mediation sessions, the Mothers and McGill reached an agreement on April 6. Cultural monitors are also allowed on site to observe.
The agreement states that if no grave is immediately found, excavation work can begin continuously and sensitively in the event of an unexpected discovery.