Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be making a stop in Kamloops in the coming weeks to meet with Chief and Council at Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc.

He made the announcement in a Wednesday morning press conference, where he said travelling to Tofino for a family vacation on the First National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was a mistake which he regrets.

“I want to thank Chief [Rosanne] Casimir of Tk’emlúps for the conversation we had over the weekend, which I apologized, for not being there with her and her community for this important day,” he said.

“I committed to going to visit the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc community in the coming weeks. There’s a lot of work for us to do, and I am committed to doing it.”

In late May, Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc sent shockwaves across the country when it announced the discovery of what’s believed to be more than 200 unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Since then, dozens of other bands have announced similar findings.

“We did extend two written invitations to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to come and attend and to also visit our community [on Sept. 30],” Kukpi7 Casimir told reporters last week, adding she had been “holding out hope” that Trudeau would accept the invitation.

While Trudeau’s itinerary said he was in “private meetings” in Ottawa, it was later confirmed that he was in fact in British Columbia, and his itinerary was later updated to reflect his actual location. That decision to travel led to sharp criticism from Indigenous leaders.

The Prime Minister’s Officer also noted that Trudeau also spoke at a sombre ceremony on Parliament Hill on Sept. 29, where residential school survivors shared stories of intense trauma. They also say he spoke to survivors “from across the country” by phone last Thursday, Sept. 30.

“Travelling on September 30 was a mistake and I regret it. The first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation was a time for Indigenous people and non Indigenous people alike to reflect and connect and think about the past and focus on the future,” Trudeau added.

When asked why he went on the trip – and whether he was told not to – he said, “The ‘how it happened’ is far less important than that it happened, which I regret.”

“We will continue to do even more on the path of reconciliation, whether it’s continuing to eliminate long-term boil water advisories, whether it’s making sure there’s better investments in housing and support for kids going to new and better schools across the country in Indigenous communities,” Trudeau added.

On Sunday, the First Nation said Trudeau apologized for not following up on invitations to visit the community.

“I’d like to thank Chief Casimir for taking my call this weekend so I could apologize directly for not being with her and her community on that day. I’m focused on making this right,” Trudeau said.

“I’m looking forward to visiting Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc in person very soon.”

– With files from The Canadian Press