The preliminary geophysical results from Phase 1 of the St Joseph’s Mission investigation are being postponed.
The Chief and Council of the Williams Lake First Nation made the announcement in a news release earlier today (December 8).
“After engagement with St Joseph’s Mission survivors, our community members, and other communities we had initially concluded that it would be best to make full disclosure of our results immediately after we received them,” stated Chief Willie Sellars, “However, since we made our announcement that there would be a public session to reveal the results on December 10, a number of communities have come forward and made it clear that they do not have the necessary health and wellness supports in place to address any issues that might arise from the release of these results.”
Sellars went on to say “It has also become clear that people around the province are still struggling in response to recent natural disasters and we wish to avoid causing people affected by these disasters any additional stress or suffering. For these reasons we are persuaded to delay the public release of the results until the New Year.”
Williams Lake First Nation said the revised date for the release of the preliminary St Joseph’s Mission geophysical results has been tentatively set for Tuesday, January 25, 2022.