"We are also aware that Indigenous survivors have requested to add the Hôpital de la Miséricorde to the list of institutions included in the settlement agreement for Indian residential schools."
The group behind the recent push to search for unmarked graves at the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital now hopes to suspend the sale of another former Montreal hospital to allow for the grounds to be searched.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the Mohawk Mothers (kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera) said it has sent a formal notice to the city of Montreal and Quebec government concerning the sale of the former Hôpital de la Miséricorde.
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The Société Québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) is in the process of selling the former hospital, located in downtown Montreal.
The group, however, says it has reason to believe “significant violations of human rights” took place at the hospital against women who were pregnant out of wedlock, including many Indigenous women.
“We are also aware that Indigenous survivors have requested to add the Hôpital de la Miséricorde to the list of institutions included in the settlement agreement for Indian residential schools,” the letter states.
The group is calling on the city and government to suspend the sale and fund research into whether there could be unmarked graves of Indigenous children on the site.
If the research indicates there could be remains there, the group wants the parties involved to commit to a full archaeological and forensic investigation.
In what it described as an important victory, in April, the Mohawk Mothers struck an agreement for searches to be conducted at the site of Montreal’s former Royal Victoria Hospital.
The Quebec Superiour Court approved a settlement agreement between the different parties involved to ensure the “appropriate archeological techniques” are used to detect whether there are graves on the site.
The agreement outlined a detailed process for how the site should be searched for possible graves. The group now wants the same process applied to the Hôpital de la Miséricorde site.
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Mohawk Mothers hopeful after deal to search for unmarked graves at Royal Victoria
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