A statement from Canada’s Western Premiers says they strongly agree hate has no place in Canada, and there is a need to do better for Indigenous and Muslim communities. This after the confirmation of the remains of 215 children found at a former Kamloops residential school and the recent Islamophobic attack in London, Ontario.

The Ontario government announced $10-million today (Tues) to help search former residential schools for unmarked graves. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says there will be a funding announcement from his government later this week. Premier Scott Moe says there is no commitment from the Saskatchewan government for funding at this point, but they have been working with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, and they will provide support to ensure the work is conducted, alongside the Indigenous communities and organizations which will lead the work.

Economic recovery from the pandemic was discussed, and part of that is re-opening the provincial and national borders. Premier Moe expects Saskatchewan’s advisory will be lifted on July 11th if the benchmark vaccine targets are reached. On June 20th, Step Two of the re-opening begins, and then Step Three begins once it has been three weeks since 70 per cent of people 18 and older have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and it has been three weeks since the beginning of Step Two.

Moe urges the federal government to communicate its plan on international travel, because he says it’s important for families to re-unite and for economic recovery.