Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he regrets traveling to meet his vacationing family in British Columbia on the country’s inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

During a COVID-19 news conference being held in Ottawa Wednesday morning, Trudeau acknowledged the trip was an error.

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

Trudeau was captured on video by a Global News cameraperson walking along a beach in Tofino, B.C. while declining to make any comment.

The video came as a shock because the Prime Minister’s itinerary stated he was in Ottawa for private meetings.

According to The Canadian Press, a spokesman for Trudeau said he spent several hours on the phone with eight people who lived through residential schools and denied that the prime minister had used the historic day to take a vacation.

The trip sparked widespread backlash from Indigenous leaders, who felt it was disrespectful of him not to join other politicians in attending events held to honour the children who never came home.