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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Church should cover costs related to examinations of unmarked grave sites

Perhaps churches should lose tax-exempt status for a period of time, says letter writer
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A sheet covered with handprints affixed to a sign outside St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church last week. (Photo submitted)

To the editor,

As the genocide of residential schools becomes increasingly clearer to all Canadians and now throughout the world with the broad public awareness of unmarked graves, those involved in this mass murder need to be held accountable. I am not talking about apologies or inquiries. The churches involved – starting with the Catholic church – should lose their tax exempt status for 10 years, effective immediately and through their co-operation in uncovering these travesties and financing the discovery and remediation of unmarked graves on their properties they can have their tax exempt status reviewed at that time.

Although the Canadian government was complicit in this, it should not be so keen to use our money to pay for this.

David Lemire, Nanaimo

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