Commissioner Activities
From the moment of their appointment, the Commissioners made it a priority to meet with former residential school students and staff. When the Commissioners took office, they initially travelled to events already organized by former students. This took them to such places as Oromocto, New Brunswick; Spanish, Ontario; Kamloops, British Columbia; and Cut Knife, Saskatchewan. The Commissioners and Commission staff also have visited hundreds of Aboriginal communities to talk about the Commission, the residential school legacy, and reconciliation.
In their public education work, the Commissioners have attended numerous conferences of Aboriginal organizations and churches, and have appeared as speakers at over 200 conferences and events organized by universities, governments, and churches, as well as by various professional and social organizations. Initially, presentations dealt with the Commission and its mandate, and the history of the residential schools. Dialogue now has moved towards engaging Canadians in discussions about the importance and meaning of reconciliation.
Early in their mandate, the Commissioners received the generous support of Governor General Michaëlle Jean in raising awareness of the Commission and the residential school legacy. The Governor General's primary interest was in engaging youth. In 2009, with the Commissioners, she hosted a special event, Witnessing the Future, at Rideau Hall. In 2010 she invited the Commissioners to help engage hundreds of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth at a forum in Vancouver immediately prior to the Vancouver Olympics. Later in the year, she attended the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's first National Event in Winnipeg, where, as the Commission's first Honourary Witness, she participated in a Sharing Circle with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal young people to discuss the legacy of the schools.
The Commissioners also have been active in discussions with regional and federal leaders. In July 2009, they attended and addressed the Annual General Assembly of the Assembly of First Nations. In January 2010, they met with the board of the Métis National Council. In July 2010, they met with the board of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. In September 2010, the Commissioners made a formal presentation to the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples as part of the Committee's review of Canada's progress since the federal government's formal apology to residential school survivors in 2008. The Commissioners also have had meetings with various federal ministers, and provincial and territorial premiers.
In addition, the Commissioners have been involved in the activities that are outlined further in this report. Map 1 provides an overview of where the Commission has been in the first two years after the appointment of the current Commissioners.
By the end of September 2011, the Commissioners had met with former residential school students in every province and territory in the country.
What People Told the Commission
Over the past two years, the Commission has made it a priority to take every opportunity to hear directly from the people most affected by the residential school system: the students and staff who worked in the schools. In this interim report, it is not possible to summarize all that the Commission was told. But, for a variety of reasons, including the advanced age of many of the former students, the Commissioners believe certain messages must be relayed to Canadians now.
People have come before the Commission to speak of tragic loss and heroic recovery. Their message is powerful because
