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The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC; french: Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada []) was a truth and reconciliation commission active in Canada from 2008 to 2015, organized by the parties of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The commission was officially established on June 1, 2008, with the purpose of documenting the history and lasting impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system on Indigenous students and their families. It provided residential school survivors an opportunity to share their experiences during public and private meetings held across the country. The TRC emphasizes that it has a priority of displaying the impacts of the residential schools to the Canadians who have been kept in the dark from these matters. In June 2015, the TRC released an executive summary of its findings along with 94 "calls to action" regarding reconciliation between Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The commission officially concluded in December 2015 with the publication of a multi-volume final report that concluded the school system amounted to cultural genocide. The
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR; french: Centre national pour la vérité et la réconciliation, ) is the archival repository for all of the material collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, purposed ...
, which opened at the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA). As part of the negotiated IRSSA, a $60 million budget over five years was established for the work of the TRC to take place. A one-year extension was granted in January 2014 to allow for the completion of the TRC's mandate, extending the conclusion of the commission to June 2015. The commission was founded as an arms-length organization with a mandate of documenting the history and impacts of the residential school system. About 70 percent of the schools were administered, with government funds, by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. As explained in the 2013 Spring Report of the
Auditor General of Canada The Auditor General of Canada is an officer of the Parliament of Canada to aid accountability and oversight by conducting independent financial audits of federal government operations. These audits provide members of parliament with objective e ...
, a key part of the TRC mandate included "creating as complete a historical record as possible of the residential school system and legacy." It was also tasked with preserving collected records documenting the residential school system and those created over the course of the commission's work for future management at a national research centre. While undertaking this task the TRC spent six years travelling to different parts of Canada to hear the testimony of more than 6,500 witnesses including residential school survivors and others impacted by the school system. The mandate of the TRC included hosting seven national reconciliation events, collecting all relevant archival documents relating to the residential schools from church and government bodies, collecting statements from survivors, and overseeing a commemoration fund to support community reconciliation events. The TRC's mandate emphasized preserving and exposing the true history of residential schools.Mark Kennedy, "At least 4,000 aboriginal children died in residential schools, commission finds"
''
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The news ...
'', Canada.com, January 3, 2014, accessed October 18, 2015
In March 2008, Indigenous leaders and church officials embarked on a multi-city ''Remembering the Children'' tour to promote activities of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. On January 21–22, 2008, the King's University College of Edmonton, Alberta, held an interdisciplinary studies conference on the subject of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. On June 11 of the same year, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
apologized for the role of past governments in administration of the residential schools. Later, in 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also vocalized an apology to those who were victims of the residential schools. The commission's mandate was originally scheduled to end in 2014, with a final event in Ottawa. However, it was extended to 2015 as numerous records related to residential schools were provided to the commission in 2014 by
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following a January 2013 order of the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...
. The commission needed additional time to review these documents. The commission held its closing event in Ottawa from May 31 to June 3, 2015, including a ceremony at
Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main bu ...
with
Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...
David Johnston.


Testimonies

The mandate of IRSSA required the TRC to gather testimonies from the residential school's survivors. The testimonies were claimed to be necessary in order for the mandate to create a historical record of the legacy and impacts of the residential schools. The historical record was also important in educating the public on "the truth of what happened" in Canada. The records of the testimonies and documents of the residential schools are open to the public in a National Research Centre. Between 2008 and 2014 the TRC gathered what is estimated to be around 7000 testimonies from the survivors, most from those who had attended the schools after the 1940s. The testimonies were gathered in both public and private settings, such as community hearings, sharing circles, Commissioners Sharing Panels, etc. The Commissioners Panels often brought large audiences, drawing hundreds of audience members and reporters with testimonies regularly being recorded and posted online. During the public testimonies, survivors detailed their experiences surrounding the residential schools. These regularly consisted of memories of being stripped of their language and culture as well as experiences of abuse, sexual assault and malnutrition.


Commission name

The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was named in a similar fashion to the commissions by the same name in Chile in 1990 and South Africa in 1996. In this context, ''reconciliation'' refers to the act of restoring a once harmonious relationship. The commission came under criticism for using the term in their name, however, as it implies that there was once a harmonious relationship between
settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
s and Indigenous Peoples that is being restored, while that relationship may never have existed in Canada. The use of ''reconciliation'' thereby perpetuates such myth by continuing to deny "the existence of pre-contact Aboriginal sovereignty."


Commissioners

Justice
Harry S. Laforme Harry Smith LaForme (born October 31, 1946) is a Canadian judge. A member of the Mississaugas people, LaForme is the first appellate court judge in Canadian history with a First Nations background. He has served as the Commissioner of the Indian ...
of the
Ontario Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law So ...
was named to chair the commission. He resigned on October 20, 2008, citing insubordination by the two other commissioners, Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Brewin Morley. Laforme said they wanted to focus primarily on uncovering and documenting truth while he wanted to also have an emphasis on reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians. In addition: "The two commissioners are unprepared to accept that the structure of the commission requires that the commission's course is to be charted and its objectives are to be shaped ultimately through the authority and leadership of its chair." Although Dumont-Smith and Morley denied the charge and initially stayed on, both resigned in January 2009. On June 10, 2009, Murray Sinclair was appointed to replace Laforme as chairperson of the TRC. Marie Wilson, a senior executive with the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and Wilton Littlechild, former Conservative Member of Parliament and Alberta regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, were appointed to replace commissioners Dumont-Smith and Morley.


Missing Children Project

The TRC contributed to not only educating the public about the reality of the residential schools, but also led to creating organizations such as the Missing Children Project. Over the course of the residential schools, thousands of children died as a result of diseases, suicide, malnutrition, etc. In 1917, the death rates stopped from being documented by the Department of Indian Affairs. The Missing Children Project is an organization that is dedicated to identifying the children who died during their time at the residential schools. The documentation is done through intensive research as well as analyzing the different conditions the students were facing.


Calls to action

In June 2015, the TRC released a summary report of its findings and "94 Calls to Action" to "redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation." The calls to action were divided into two categories: "Legacy" and "Reconciliation."


Legacy

The Legacy section of the calls to action focused on redressing the harms resulting from the Indian residential schools (IRS), the proposed actions are identified in the following sub-categories: # Child welfare: Residential schools often served as foster homes rather than educational settings. According to a 1953 survey, 4,313 children of 10,112 residential school children were described as either orphans or originated from broken homes. The sole residential school in Canada's Atlantic Provinces, in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, was one such school, taking in children whom child welfare agencies believed to be at risk. There is an ongoing legacy of state intervention in Indigenous children lives via the child welfare system. By 2011, 3.6 percent of all First Nations children under the age of 14 were in foster care, compared to 0.3 percent for non-lndigenous children. In 2012, the
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also monitors the Convention's three optional protoc ...
voiced concern on Canada's removal of Indigenous children from their families as a 'first resort'. # Education: Due to limited funds, a shortage of trained teachers, and an emphasis on manual labour, many students in the IRS system did not progress beyond a rudimentary education. When residential schools were phased out, Indigenous youth enrolled in provincial schools dropped out in large numbers. The education focused calls to action are to address the current school completion rates and the income gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In addition, the calls to actions request the elimination of the ongoing discrepancy in funding of Indigenous education. # Language and Culture: Children in residential schools were not allowed to speak their native languages or practice their culture. According to
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
, 36 percent of Canada's Indigenous languages are listed as being critically endangered. The calls to action request increased funding for educating children in Indigenous languages and also request that post-secondary institutions provide degrees and diplomas in Indigenous languages. # Health: Healthcare for IRS students varied considerably between schools and between different decades. After the 1940s, health facilities and health care workers became more prevalent. Some schools had a nurse on staff and an infirmary, with doctors who paid visits. Testimony before the TRC reveals that a great many children were subjected to sexual and physical abuse while attending a residential school. It is often claimed that the effects of the trauma have been passed on to the children of those students. The calls to action in this connection connect the poor healthcare provided at residential school to the current gap in health outcomes for Indigenous people in Canada. # Justice: When the Canadian legal system was tasked with investigating abuse claims, few prosecutions resulted from police investigations. In many cases, the federal government and the RCMP compromised the investigations. Given the statutes of limitations, many acts of abuse have gone unpunished because the children did not have the means or possess the knowledge to seek justice for their abuses. The calls to action around justice seek to extend the statutes of limitations and to reaffirm the independence of the RCMP. They also speak to the need to develop culturally appropriate justice systems.


Reconciliation

The Reconciliation section of the calls to action were focused on creating better relations between the federal and provincial governments of Canada and Indigenous nations, with an emphasis on creating a reconciled relationship. The proposed actions are identified in the following sub-categories: # Canadian governments and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People # Royal proclamation and covenant of reconciliation # Settlement agreement parties and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples # Equity for Aboriginal people in the legal system # National council for reconciliation # Professional development and training for public servants # Church apologies and reconciliation # Education for reconciliation # Youth programs # Museums and archives # Missing children and burial information # National centre for truth and reconciliation # Commemoration # Media and reconciliation # Sports and reconciliation # Business and reconciliation # Newcomers to Canada


Implementation

The degree of implementation has been assessed differently by observers. Two of the most prominent asessements are conducted by the Yellowhead Institute at Ryerson University and the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
(CBC).


Yellowhead Institute assessment

In 2016 and 2017, historian Ian Mosby evaluated how many of the calls to action had been completed at the one year and two year anniversary marks. In 2016, he concluded that only five calls were complete and three calls were partially complete, leaving 86 calls unmet. In 2017, his evaluation showed that only 7 of the 94 calls had been completed. At the end of 2020, his evaluation (together with Eva Jewell) is that only 8 calls had been fully implemented.


CBC assessment

In 2018 the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
established ''Beyond 94'', a website to track the status of each call to action. As of March 2018, 10 were marked as completed, 15 were in-progress with projects underway, 25 had projects proposed, and 44 were unmet. As of July 29, 2019, the site has been updated to mark 10 calls to action completed, 21 in-progress with projects underway, 37 in-progress with projects proposed, and 26 "not yet started." , the CBC has marked the following 13 calls to action as "complete": * Language and Culture (#13) — Acknowledge that Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights: In 2017, the Minister for Heritage Mélanie Joly announced, in collaboration with the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council, that they would be co-developing an ''Indigenous Languages Act'' for the protection and promotion of Indigenous languages across Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit cultures. The Indigenous Languages Act came law on 21 June 2019. * Language and Culture (#15) — Appoint an Aboriginal Languages Commissioner: Ronald Ignace was appointed commissioner on June 14, 2021, along with three other directors, to form the Office of the Commission for Indigenous Languages. * Justice (#39) — Collect and publish data on the criminal victimization of Aboriginal people: Statistics Canada published a report in 2016 entitled ''Victimization of Aboriginal people in Canada, 2014'' utilizing data from the 2014 General Social Survey. The report found that higher levels of Indigenous Canadians were found to have been victims of crime in 2014 than non-Indigenous Canadians. * Justice (#41) — Appoint a public inquiry into the causes of, and remedies for, the disproportionate victimization of Aboriginal women and girls: In the immediate aftermath of the 2015 federal election, the new Trudeau government announced a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. The inquiry commenced in 2016, and concluded on June 3, 2019, and included numerous recommendations for addressing the " endemic violence" faced by Indigenous women in Canada. * Reconciliation (#43) — Adopt and implement the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...
: Bill C-15 was passed on June 16, 2021, in its third attempt at being passed in parliament. * Reconciliation (#59) — Church parties to residential school settlement to educate congregations on why apologies necessary: 67 percent of residential schools were run by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
, with the remaining 33 percent including the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
, United, and
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
Church. These churches began to apologize beginning with the United Church of Canada in 1986, with the others following in the years thereafter. In 2009, the Vatican issued an official expression of sorrow, and Justin Trudeau requested that an official apology be made in 2017. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called on all churches involved in the facilitation of the Indian Residential Schools to educate their congregations about the church's involvement in the schools and the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples. This is done primarily through KAIROS Canada, a faith-based advocacy group. * Reconciliation (#80) — Establish a
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation The Truth and Reconciliation Day (french: Journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation), originally and still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day (french: Jour du chandail orange), is a Canadian statutory holiday to recognize the legacy ...
as a statutory holiday: Bill C-5 was passed on June3, 2021, to make
Orange Shirt Day The Truth and Reconciliation Day (french: Journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation), originally and still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day (french: Jour du chandail orange), is a Canadian statutory holiday to recognize the legacy ...
(September30) a statutory holiday. * Reconciliation (#83) —
Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...
to establish a strategy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects: the Canadian Council for the Arts gave $17.8 million in funds to Indigenous artists in 2017–18, and is on track to triple its 2015-16 investment of $6.3 million to $18.9 million in 2020–21, as detailed in their 2016-2021 Strategic Plan. * Reconciliation (#84) — Restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada to enable it to support reconciliation: The federal government allotted an additional 75 million dollars towards the CBC in its 2016 budget. The CBC presented an "Accountability Plan" to make public how those funds were being invested. Though the commission called specifically for increased Indigenous programming, under the ''
Broadcasting Act Broadcasting Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom that relates to broadcasting. The Bill for an Act with this short title will usually h ...
'' it is impossible for public funds to be put towards specific programming. However, the amount of programming by and for Indigenous Peoples has increased on the CBC since 2016. * Reconciliation (#85) — Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) to support reconciliation: The commission called on APTN to produce and broadcast content by and for Indigenous peoples supporting reconciliation. This initiative was upheld by APTN, with the launch of their series ''TAKEN'' in 2016 centring on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. * Reconciliation (#87) — Tell the stories of Aboriginal athletes in history:
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada ...
included a segment about Indigenous athletes throughout Canadian history in an online exhibit launched in 2017. This was followed by the inclusion of various Indigenous athletes into the British Columbia Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, and the Toronto Hockey Hall of Fame. * Reconciliation (#88) — Continued support for the
North American Indigenous Games The North American Indigenous Games is a multi-sport event involving indigenous North American athletes staged intermittently since 1990. The Games are governed by the North American Indigenous Games Council, a 26-member council of representatives ...
: the Canadian government promised in 2017 to contribute $18.9 million to funding "culturally relevant" sports programs in Indigenous communities over 5 years, with 5.5 million promised every 4 years after 2022, as a collaboration between the Ministry of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. * Reconciliation (#90) — Ensure that national sports policies, programs and initiatives are inclusive of Aboriginal Peoples: After the release of the commission's report in 2015, Sport Canada announced that it would be reinstating funding to the
Aboriginal Sport Circle The Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC) is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1995. It is designated as Canada's governing body and voice for Aboriginal sport throughout the country. The ASC brings together the athletic interests of F ...
, which is a national organization advocating for resources for Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit athletic programs. The federal government also allocated 47.5 million dollars to sport development in over 300 communities nationwide.


Final report

In December 2015, the TRC released its final report. The report was based upon primary and secondary source research undertaken by the commission and testimonies collected from residential school survivors during TRC events. The final report summarized the work of the TRC and included the following sections: * "Honouring the Truth, Reconciling the Future," * "What We Have Learned," * "The Survivors Speak," * "The History, Part 1 - Origins to 1939," * "The History, Part 2 - 1939 to 2000," * "The Inuit and Northern Experience," * "The Métis Experience," * "Missing Children and Unmarked Burials," * "The Legacy," and * "Reconciliation." The report noted that an estimated 150,000 children attended residential schools during its 120-year history and an estimated 3200 of those children died in the residential schools. From the 70,000 former IRS students still alive, there were 31,970 sexual or serious sexual assault cases resolved by Independent Assessment Process, and 5,995 claims were still in progress as of the report's release. The TRC concluded that the removal of children from the influence of their own culture with the intent of assimilating them into the dominant Canadian culture amounted to cultural genocide. The ambiguity of the TRC's phrasing allowed for the interpretation that physical and biological genocide also occurred. The TRC was not authorized to conclude that physical and biological genocide occurred, as such a finding would imply a legal responsibility of the Canadian government that would be difficult to prove. As a result, the debate about whether the Canadian government also committed physical and biological genocide against Indigenous populations remains open. The
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR; french: Centre national pour la vérité et la réconciliation, ) is the archival repository for all of the material collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, purposed ...
(NCTR) was established at the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. The NCTR opened to the public in November 2015 and holds more than five million documents relating to the legacy of residential schools in Canada.


Criticisms

A number of critiques about the TRC have been put forward by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers, ranging from its scope and motivating framework to its methodology and conclusions. Professor
Glen Coulthard Glen Sean Coulthard (born 1974) is a Canadian scholar of Native American studies, Indigenous studies who serves as an associate professor in the political science department at the University of British Columbia. A member of the Yellowknives Dene F ...
, a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, has argued that the TRC's focus on the residential school system positioned reconciliation as a matter of "overcoming a 'sad chapter' in anadianhistory," which failed to recognize the ongoing nature and impact of
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...
. For Coulthard, reconciliation being tied solely to the residential school system and actions of the past explains why
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
was able to apologize for the system in 2008 and, a year later, claim that there is no history of colonialism in Canada. Professors Brian Rice, a member of the
Mohawk Nation The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern N ...
, and Anna Snyder agree with Coulthard's critique of the focus on residential schools as the singular issue to reconcile noting that the schools were only "one aspect of a larger project to absorb or assimilate Aboriginal people". Many writers have observed the way the TRC historicizes the events of colonialism and fails to emphasize that uneven Indigenous-non-Indigenous relationships are perpetual and ongoing. Historicizing is further evident in the TRC's 'Principles of Reconciliation' where reconciliation is framed as grappling with harms of the past. This is problematic because it implies that colonialism is not ongoing and is not part of current government policy. Because of this historicizing, the TRC concentrated its efforts largely on 'psychological' healing through the gathering and airing of stories; however, it lacked significant institutional change, particularly change to the kinds of government institutions involved in residential schools and other forms of colonial domination. Another criticism of the commission is that reconciliation is introduced "on terms still largely dictated by the state," rather than allowing a grassroots movement to gain traction or forms of 'moral protest' to develop. Because it was the government that initiated the process of reconciliation and set the terms of it, some critics argued that the colonial power is dictating the terms of their colonial subjects' healing, and " mposinga time limit on 'healing'", in order to move past; it makes it less effective as a platform for reconciliation. The approach by the commission to engage with Indigenous Peoples when and how it is most convenient for non-Indigenous Canadians can be seen as "yet another form of settler colonialism." Because Indigenous "recognition and reconciliation, from a Canadian perspective, sfocused only on the wrongs of the past, and the situation as it exists today is ignored." Unlike the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, the Canadian commission was not a federal or state-led initiative. It was developed as part of a legal settlement, the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, between various residential school survivor groups, the Assembly of First Nations, various Church bodies, and the Government of Canada. As such, the TRC had no powers of subpoena; no power to offer known perpetrators of abuse the possibility of amnesty in exchange for honest testimony about any abuses that may have been committed. Further, the commission could not explicitly "name names" or accuse individuals; perpetrators held accountable via the commission. Therefore, the Canadian commission heard primarily from former students.


Questioning of findings

The same week the Final Report was released, two retired professors from the University of Manitoba published a scathing criticism of it, titled "Truth and Reconciliation report tells a 'skewed and partial story' of residential schools". Hymie Rubenstein, a retired professor of anthropology who wrote about poverty in the Caribbean, and Rodney A. Clifton, professor emeritus of education, Fraser Institute fellow, and former residential school employee in the 1960s, co-penned an editorial questioning the truthfulness of the Report. In it, they held that, while the residential school program had been harmful to many students, the commission had shown "indifference to robust evidence gathering, comparative or contextual data, and cause-effect relationships," which resulted in the commission's report telling "a skewed and partial story". According to Rubenstein and Clifton, the Truth and Reconciliation Report did not compare its findings with rates and causes of mortality among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children attending public schools. Rubenstein and Clifton noted that the report also failed to consider Indian residential schools were typically located in rural areas far from hospitals, making treatment more difficult to acquire. They describe it as "bad research". In an essay defending John A. Macdonald from the claim of having committed genocide, Patrice Dutil, a professor of politics and public administration at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), wrote that the commission was "yet another very expensive ''prise de conscience'' designed to keep the light on a painful aspect of the Canadian experience", and that the volumes on residential schools "barely pretends to be an academic document." He went on to write that "the TRC’s report does not, technically or literally speaking, constitute 'history.' The study makes no attempt to put things in perspective, to show how practices evolved or to compare the Canadian experience with that of other countries. It is, rather, a blunt catalogue of findings typical of Royal Commissions, providing a long list of mini-studies of various phenomena with scarcely an academic veneer." In March 2017,
Lynn Beyak Jean Lynn Beyak ( Smith; born February 18, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician who represented Ontario in the Senate of Canada from January 25, 2013 to January 25, 2021.Conservative member of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Standing Committee of Aboriginal Peoples, voiced disapproval of the final TRC report, saying that it had omitted an "abundance of good" that was present in the schools. Although Beyak's right to free speech was defended by some Conservative senators, her comments were widely criticized, including by
Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
Carolyn Bennett Carolyn Ann Bennett (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian physician and politician who has served as minister of mental health and addictions, and associate minister of health since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, she has rep ...
and leader of the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...
Tom Mulcair. The Anglican Church also raised concerns, stating in a release co-signed by bishops
Fred Hiltz Frederick James Hiltz (born 3 December 1953) is a Canadian retired Anglican bishop. From 2007 to 2019, he served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Early life and education Hiltz was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where he was also r ...
and Mark MacDonald: "There was nothing good about children going missing and no report being filed. There was nothing good about burying children in unmarked graves far from their ancestral homes." In response, the Conservative Party leadership removed Beyak from the Senate committee underscoring that her comments did not align with the views of the party. Conservative Commentator Helen Andrews writing in
The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...
criticized the process:


Legacy

In August 2017, Crystal Gail Fraser and Sara Komarnisky release
"150 Acts of Reconciliation for the Last 150 Days of Canada's 150"
with a call to Canadians to engage in meaningful reconciliation work and think about the TRC's calls to action. In August 2018, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society announced the release of the ''
Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada () is an English and French educational resource created by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, published by Canadian Geographic, and funded by the Government of Canada. It was created to address calls t ...
'', an encyclopedia with content including information about indigenous lands, languages, communities, treaties, and cultures, and topics such as the Canadian Indian residential school system, racism, and
cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...
. It was created to address the Calls to Action, among them the development of "culturally appropriate curricula" for Aboriginal Canadian students. The Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, and Finland have established truth and reconciliation commissions to address the colonialization of the
Saami people The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Amer ...
which are modelled on the Canadian commission. Norway created its commission in 2018, and Sweden and Finland followed in 2021.


See also

* * * *


Notes


References


External links

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Truth and Reconciliation Main Website

Indian Residential School Resolution Canada

Remembering the Children Tour

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
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