He went on vacation with his family

Trudeau angers indigenous people for not attending a memorial for the victims of the boarding school

• An Aboriginal woman listens to Trudeau during his apology.

  AFP

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has personally apologized to Aboriginal leaders after he missed a memorial service for the victims and survivors of the boarding school events that killed more than 215 Aboriginal students.

There were 140 federally run Indian boarding schools in Canada between 1831 and 1998.

The government separated about 150,000 Indigenous children from their families and forced them to attend Christian boarding schools in an attempt to assimilate them into Canadian society.

Thousands of children died from disease and other causes, and the Canadian government has acknowledged that physical and sexual abuse is rampant in these schools.

Trudeau visited the First Nation group on Monday to apologize to leader Rosanne Casimir for his absence from the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, which the Canadian parliament passed in the spring.

The Prime Minister has reportedly not responded to the invitation to attend the September 30 party, opting instead to take a beach holiday with his family.

"I'm here today to say I wish I had been here a few weeks ago, and I'm so sorry for that," Trudeau told British Columbia's First Nation.

He added, “Instead of me talking about truth and reconciliation, people talked about me, and this is a responsibility on my shoulders.” He said, “I take responsibility for that.”

One of the largest remaining ethnic groups is located near one of these schools in Kamloops, British Columbia, where unmarked graves of 215 children were discovered in May.

More bodies have been found in other Aboriginal communities, and the Canadian government has acknowledged that thousands of children died from disease and other causes.

Casimir said First Nation sent two letters to Trudeau's office inviting him to attend the ceremony as a way to show his "commitment to righting the historic wrongs of boarding schools and grieving for the survivors of our boarding schools."

Instead, First Nation learned from a journalist on September 30 that the prime minister, whose official agenda is to hold private meetings in Ottawa on this date, was in fact on vacation with his family in Tofino on Vancouver Island.

"Shock, sadness and disbelief were evident in our society," Casimir said on Monday, adding that "today we have to take some positive steps forward and right the wrong."

Trudeau spoke by phone with Casimir earlier this month to apologize for his contempt for the invitation, but Monday was his first in-person meeting with her.

Few officials attended the event, according to The Globe and Mail, which said it "fuelled society's anger" towards the prime minister.

Several speakers called on Trudeau to provide more than "hollow words," according to the newspaper.

"It was a mistake," Trudeau said on Monday. "I understand it's a very difficult day, even more difficult."

• The government separated about 150,000 Indigenous children from their families and forced them to attend Christian boarding schools in an attempt to assimilate them into Canadian society.

Thousands of children died from disease and other causes.

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