In May 2020, news of hundreds of unmarked graves was blasted all over the international headlines. At the Catholic-run Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, Canada, a couple hundred bodies of indigenous children were allegedly buried in unmarked graves.

When the announcement hit the news stands, the country erupted in a wave of violence and church burnings. Two dozen churches were set aflame with the people in power saying “burn it all down.” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanded that Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, fly to Canada and apologize. First Nations leaders were saying: “It’s a harsh reality and it’s our truth, it’s our history, and it’s something that we’ve always had to fight to prove. To me, it’s always been a horrible, horrible history.” Reparations were called for from those deemed responsible. The Canadian people called this a human rights violation and a genocide, setting aside $27 million to get to the bottom of this.

Just one small hiccup. None of the allegations were true. There have been no discoveries of bodies. No human remains have been found or exhumed from the site.

The person who started this rumor is a young “conflict anthropologist” (an anthropologist who studies the aftermath of conflict in human behavior). Dr. Sarah Beaulieu is her name, and she used ground-penetrating radar that led her to believe there were graves. The results of the scan, she emphasized, couldn’t be proven until the bodies were exhumed. She was very hesitant to claim there were actual burials, instead calling them “probable” or “targets of interest.” Her findings were overblown by Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlúps te secwépemc First Nation. Soon, other indigenous leaders began adding fuel to the fire. Politicians did what they do best — never letting a good scandal go to waste.

In reality, the only unmarked graves at the school were those in the graveyard that had originally been marked with wooden crosses. Wood is a material the decomposes over time, which is why they appeared unmarked. There are not hundreds of children buried at the school. Those who are buried there probably died of diseases, and those deaths were documented.

Of all things, this stinks of Chinese interference. Recall back in July when they mockingly demanded that the U.S. and Canada “review and redress” the genocide of our own indigenous peoples? This challenge to take care of our own country’s problems is eerily similar to the sentiments of Golden State Warriors part owner Chamath Palihapitiya.

Besides potential international interference, Canada has made it very clear that it’s open season on religion and Christianity in particular. The country has been arresting pastors who continue to hold church services. This past Monday, the government passed a law that criminalizes conversion therapy. If a pastor, parent, doctor, or counselor helps guide those struggling with gender dysphoria back to opposite-sex attraction and relationships, they are breaking the law and will go to jail. This law is dubbed C-4, and it has blown up the religious community.

The thing that should frighten us here in the states is that Canada and Europe are indicators for where our country is heading politically and culturally. What we’re seeing in Canada is not good.

This “mass grave” hoax should be a huge scandal and exposed in every newspaper. Apologies should be issued to the pope and to those church members who lost their church building due to arson. Sadly, though, there is deafening silence on the subject. And that is chilling.