WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The British Columbia government says the Williams Lake First Nation is planning to excavate the site of a former residential school to recover possible human remains and has signed an agreement with the province and RCMP to help guide the process.

The Ministry of Indigenous Relations says the memorandum of understanding is the first of its kind in B.C. and sets out the process used for potential recovery, identification and repatriation of remains linked to the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School.