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    • Feds expected to announce plans to raise, re-lower flags for Remembrance Day

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    The federal government is expected to announce on Friday that it will raise, and re-lower Canadian flags on federal buildings and on the Peace Tower, for Remembrance Day.

    Government sources have confirmed to CTV News that the government intends to maintain the tradition of lowering the flags on federal buildings on Nov. 11.

    In order to lower them, they will have to temporarily be re-raised, after being lowered to half-mast in late May following the first discoveries of unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C.

    In the months that have followed the discovery of what is believed to be the remains of 215 children, discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at other former residential school sites have continued, including the discovery of 751 graves at Cowessess First Nation, near the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

    The government's position leading up to Remembrance Day has been that until further notice, the flags would remain at half-mast in honour of the victims and survivors of the Canadian residential school system.

    The scenario of raising the flags on Nov. 11 to lower them again is one that has been accepted by Indigenous leaders and the Royal Canadian Legion.

    “I’m fine with it,†Cadmus Delorme, chief of Cowessess First Nation, told CTV News, adding that “as Canada, as Indigenous people, we must understand that we are going to be in a state of mourning, of healing, [for] a few years.â€

    Nujma Bond, communications manager with the Royal Canadian Legion, explained that at the National War Memorial on Nov. 11, the flags will be hoisted just before the official Remembrance Day ceremony.

    “They will be lowered during the ceremony in respect to our veterans,†Bond said.

    On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government has been talking to Indigenous communities across the country about how to raise the flags ahead of the nationwide ceremonies.

    “There is an understanding of how important it is to be able to lower the flags on Remembrance Day to mark our veterans, to mark people, including Indigenous peoples, who've stepped up to fight for Canadian values and paid the ultimate sacrifice,†Trudeau told reporters during a press conference from the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

    “I'm confident that the conversations with Indigenous leadership on making sure we are able to lower the flags once again on Nov. 11 will come at the right solution,†Trudeau said.

    It is possible that more will also be said on Friday about what will happen with the flags after Remembrance Day, but right now, it’s unclear how the government will proceed.

    Only a fraction of residential school grounds have been searched with ground-penetrating radar for unmarked graves so far, and Indigenous leaders say that the flags must remain at half-mast to honour the Indigenous children found, as well as those yet to be found.

    “There are 160 residential schools in this country and less than 10 have told their story,†Delorme said. “So we have a ways to go. The flag --keep it lowered to honour the unmarked graves, the children who never made it home, something we all must reflect [on] as Canadians.â€

    Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has been calling for the flags to be raised ahead of Remembrance Day, and after that “return to normal protocols.â€

    “This is the most important national symbol… It brings us together here at home, it's respected around the world and there's normally protocols,†said O’Toole in an interview on Thursday morning with CP24.

    “We've had days where police officers who die in the line of duty are normally honoured, that can't be done, because we've been in this prolonged period that is quite unprecedented. So I think that symbolism is important, but concrete action on reconciliation is more important and I think we need to return to normal with the flag as soon as possible, and recommit to the calls to action that will actually show Indigenous peoples that we're committed to the long-term well-being of all Canadians.â€

    For Muskowekwan Residential School survivor James Desjarlais, bringing the flags back up will send the wrong message to Indigenous people, signalling that Canada is no longer interested in addressing and acknowledging its violent past.

    “It’s sort of bypassing the whole thing to tuck it under the rug and [say]: ‘let’s get on with life,’ and stuff like that, you know?†he said.

    Trudeau has stated that any decision on what will happen next for the flags will be made in consultation with Indigenous leaders.

    With files from CTV Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Mackenzie Grey, and Alexandra Mae Jones 

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