A black rights group, and some Montreal city councillors, want a Quebec cemetery where black slaves are believed to be buried designated as a historical site.
The Black Coalition of Quebec says several loyalist families leaving the U-S brought slaves with them when they settled near Saint-Armand around 1784.
Coalition president Dan Philip says they've written to the United Nations as well as the federal and provincial governments asking that the site near the Vermont border be preserved.
He says the aim is to raise awareness of the little-known history of slavery in Canada and the contributions of the black community to building the region.
Some Montreal city councillors are supporting the quest to get the site recognized as a national historical site.
Councillor Marvin Rotrand plans to introduce a bill asking the administration to support the effort.
Since the site is privately owned and hasn't been open for digging, evidence of a burial ground comes mostly from town records and oral history.
