The federal government waived key reporting requirements after providing more than $12 million to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation for the investigation of alleged unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, according to records obtained by Blacklock's Reporter through the Access to Information Act.

The records show Crown-Indigenous Relations Canada relaxed its requirement that the First Nation submit quarterly progress reports detailing how the funding was being used. The department cited COVID-19 disruptions, the 2021 B.C. wildfires and staffing shortages as reasons for the reduced oversight.

The funding was announced in 2021 after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced ground-penetrating radar had identified 215 "potential burials" at the former residential school site. Federal funding was intended to support exhumations, forensic investigations, DNA testing and coroner involvement.

However, the First Nation has since confirmed that no exhumations have taken place.

According to the records obtained by Blacklock's, the Information Commissioner criticized the department's handling of documents related to the funding. Crown-Indigenous Relations initially indicated it possessed 576 pages of quarterly Activity Progress Reports before later revising that figure to just 23 pages.

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The commissioner noted that reports for several reporting periods were never produced and that officials ultimately deemed hundreds of pages previously identified as "not relevant."

The released records do not explain why no exhumations were carried out despite the funding.

Last February, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir confirmed the community had not attempted to recover any remains. She said future options include preserving the orchard as a sacred memorial site or conducting excavations at a later date.

Appearing before the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples in March, Casimir argued that establishing the truth would require significantly more time and funding. She compared the work to Holocaust investigations, saying they have continued for decades and adding that "truth takes time."

When asked by Alberta Senator Scott Tannas how many of the reported 215 potential burials had actually been identified, Casimir replied that the question was "out of my realm right at this time."