On December 9, 2013 you apologized to people who lived and survived government run provincial institutions. You said “one of a government's foremost responsibilities is to care for its people, to make sure they are protected and safe. And therein lies a basic trust between the state and the people. It is on that foundation of trust that everything else is built: our sense of self, our sense of community, our sense of purpose. And when that trust is broken with any one of us, we all lose something - we are all diminished.”

On July 25, 2017 survivors and their supporters with Remember Every Name received a letter from the Ontario government stating it is proceeding with plans to do a superficial facelift to the Huronia Regional Cemetery in the fall. It says MCSS “has been working with Remember Every Name for some time now on how to beautify the Huronia Regional Centre cemetery to ensure that it is maintained in a thoughtful and respectful manner that will preserve the site’s important historical legacy and the memory of those interred there.” They thanked REN for providing the valuable recommendations on which the Site Plan is based.

We want to make it clear to you, there was no “consultation” or partnership or respect from the Ministry of Community and Social Services. The survivors of HRC wanted a voice in these plans but we were not asked to be involved when the government contracted a consultant to draw up the concept or design of the HRC Cemetery. We have asked for full disclosure and transparency from MCSS of documents that have not been made public and for which our requests have been repeatedly denied.

The letter we received is an insult to survivors and we are asking for your help to put a halt to the government proceeding with their plans to beautify the Huronia Regional Centre until our goal of discovering and communicating the truth of how people were carelessly interred there and if graves were disturbed when a septic system was installed through the cemetery in 1952. We owe that to to the survivors as part of truth and healing, to the ones laid to rest there, to their families who seek them out and to society as a whole. The survivors of HRC want a voice in these plans. They also want full disclosure from the Ministry of Community and Social Services of documents that have not been made public.

Survivors are starting to think your apology is becoming hollow words because of the re actions from the government which has made us all feel disrespected and diminished. We remain hopeful you will do the right thing by helping us.

Respectfully yours.