[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.]

NANAIMO - The federal government has secret archives relating to the Alberni Indian Residential School, Peter Grant, lead lawyer for 31 former students suing the government and the United Church of Canada, told B.C. Supreme Court Monday.

In the midst of lawyers wrangling over the scheduling of witnesses late Monday afternoon, Mr. Grant told Mr. Justice Donald Brenner that he recently discovered that the federal government has "secret archives that exist that have not been disclosed. These are not in the National Archives."

Mitchell Taylor, lead lawyer for the federal government, said there are no secret archives. He told Mr. Justice Brenner that Mr. Grant's allegation was a "surprising, shocking, outrageous comment to just pop up like that in court."

In an interview, Mr. Grant said he recently learned of the existence of the secret archives and he is convinced they exist. He said "Canada," meaning Mr. Mitchell's team, is also aware of the archives, and "I intend to make demands for these from Canada."