Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined indigenous leaders across from Parliament Hill and said the building housing his office will no longer bear the name of Hector-Louis Langevin, a father of Confederation and an architect of the residential school system.
Trudeau first announced that National Aboriginal Day will henceforth be referred to as National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The crowd, gathered in a circle close to the podium where Trudeau was speaking, began to cheer and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde jumped to his feet, smiling and applauding.
“That’s awesome,” Bellegarde could be heard saying.Later, Bellegarde thanked the prime minister, saying he listened to indigenous people who expressed concerns about the Langevin Block.
In February, a group of indigenous MPs — Independent Hunter Tootoo, the NDP’s Romeo Saganash and Georgina Jolibois and members of the Liberal indigenous caucus– also asked the federal government for a new name.
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