Canada shares Residential School documents with National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

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January 20, 2022 

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and Stephanie Scott, Executive Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement that outlines how and when Canada will share historical documents related to Residential Schools. This co-developed approach will ensure an efficient and secure transmission of documents while protecting and respecting the privacy of Survivors. The timing will be set by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and will begin with school narratives.

Canada recognizes the importance of preserving and sharing documentation that will help the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation honour and remember the children who attended Residential Schools, while respecting Survivors' wishes, legislation, court orders, settlement agreements and ongoing litigation processes. The Memorandum also outlines next steps to acquire records of Residential School history. This also highlights the new collaboration between the NCTR and Canada, and is a step towards a renewed relationship with Indigenous Peoples, accountability, and a stronger understanding of the legacy of Residential Schools.via

Quick facts

• On December 10, 2021, Minister Miller issued a statement committing to a new approach for federal document disclosure related to Residential Schools.
• The transmission of documents will occur in an order and schedule that works for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) and will include additional documents to those previously provided to the NCTR by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In 2015, Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and other federal government departments provided over 4 million documents to the TRC to support their work.
• In 2016, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada allocated $10 million to the NCTR in response to Call to Action 78, which recommended funding to assist the NCTR in establishing a national archive of information related to Residential Schools. In 2018, Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada provided $500,000 to the NCTR to support their development of a national student death register.