Recently a politician from a village in Prince Edward Island displayed an offensive sign on his property in which he proclaimed there is a “mass grave hoax” regarding the former Indian Residential Schools in Canada. Although many have called for him to resign, he is just one of many people who subscribe to this false theory.
A hoax is an act intended to trick people into believing something that isn’t true. Commentary that a “hoax” exists began circulating in 2021 around the time of public announcements from First Nations across the country that — through the use of ground penetrating radar and other means — the remains of Indigenous children are suspected to be in unmarked graves at or near some former residential schools.