The Status of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada

Reflecting on progress with the TRC Calls to Action

-excerpted from comprehensive analyses: Calls to Action Accountability: A 2022 Status Update on Reconciliation and Calls to Action Accountability: A 2023 Status Update on Reconciliation by the Yellowhead Institute, an Indigenous-led research and education centre based in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University.

It was in 1996 that the last federally funded Residential School closed. Implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement began in 2007, which included the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to facilitate reconciliation among former students, their families, their communities and all Canadians. It has been 9 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report with 94 Calls to Action and defined the “loss of Indigenous life, land, and nationhood caused by Canada’s violent colonial policies” as an act of “cultural Genocide”.

Reflecting on the observation of the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2022, Ginger Gosnell-Myers (Nisga’a & Kwakwak’awakw) expressed the hope “that Canadians are wondering what this day means for them. Much of it will focus on understanding how this country was shaped through Indigenous genocide and land theft, and this truth should make them angry. I want to validate that anger, which is developing into a new lens to view the country.” Gosnell-Myers’ provided important insight in her response to the question of how should National Day for Truth and Reconciliation be observed:

“One thing that is becoming clear to me is the need for two versions of the day: one for Indigenous peoples and one for Canadians.”

How might non-Indigenous, settler and newcomer Canadians observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?  This story inspires us:

“Seventy-thousand people attended the Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver on September 22, 2013 — an event made possible by the leadership of Chief Robert Joseph, Karen Joseph, and Reconciliation Canada. It was a rainy day, and there was a real concern that the miserable weather would keep most from coming out. Yet, tens of thousands of people showed up. We had this positive collective healing moment. That public show of support made a difference, because when 70,000 people show up to demand change, the smart decision-makers follow suit.

We don’t want success to look like further assimilation: we also need our cultures at the root of what takes place — to learn and embrace what Indigenous care and joy look like, to know what Indigenous celebration and grieving look like, and to understand what Indigenous stewardship, honouring, perseverance, and recognition look like. This furthers our self determination while creating opportunities for mutual respect between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. We have opportunities to use the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to benefit us in good ways, but it should initially look different for Indigenous peoples and Canadians, respectively, to reach the kind of future we deserve.”

Regarding how Indigenous peoples might observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: 

“We develop our connections and sense of community. When we come together without the white gaze, we begin to sort out our needs, understand our roles, and make our commitments to each other as family and as community. We are collective; we value community: Namwayut: We are all one. This is an important value, and I think that September 30th should be about having a designated space and time for us to live in community and culture with one another.

We also need truth on this day. We need it to help us move past the hurt and anger that’s carried and stems from residential schools and their intergenerational impacts because we aren’t actually talking about these impacts with each other or at the family level.

How can we use the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to share some of the truths we’ve been too afraid to say to each other — such as lateral violence, residential school experiences, or intergenerational pain? We know that these stories hold us back when we hold them in….The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation could also be a day for us to process our grief….Part of the work and healing we need to do requires time and space to be with each other, which will facilitate our health and wellness. We need to build right relations with each other, our neighbouring nations and strengthen our solidarity from the ground up. We are missing key steps in validating our connections with one another. This is creating a new set of neo-colonial problems for our communities. We forget that our collective survival required our ancestors to take care of each other, then later join together, sharing strategies and information to reclaim our lands, waters, children, women, and natural resources. When we come together, not only is there healing, but there is strength, pride, wellness, and joy. Let’s use September 30th to further this.”  

In the 2022 status update, editors Dr Eva Jewell ((Anishinaabekwe, Deshkan Ziibiing, Chippewas
of the Thames First Nation), Research Director at Yellowhead Institute, Assistant Professor
of Sociology, Toronto Metropolitan University), and Dr. Ian Mosby (Assistant Professor in the
Department of History, Toronto Metropolitan University) included this reminder:

“[T]here can be pathways for settler institutional leadership. Indigenous peoples have, time and again, been taking on the hard work of leading and steering reconciliation efforts. But what does it look like to share the obligations of reconciliation?” 

By 2023, only 13 Calls have been accomplished and, at this pace, the 94 Calls to Action will not be complete until 2065.  

Canadians must demand that our political leaders make genuine efforts to complete all of the TRC Calls to Action.

Indigenous Watchdog identifies four fundamental reasons for the lack of progress: 

1. The absence of political will to tackle the hardest Indigenous issues, specifically issues of land and self-government; 
2. Structural, legislative and institutional barriers embedded in the federal, provincial and territory colonial governance systems; 
3. Systemic racism and discrimination entrenched within multiple sectors of society; 
4. Failure to collect and disseminate quality data makes accurate reporting on various statistical measures difficult.”

In June 2022, after years of development that included the appointment of both an interim board and a transitional committee, Marc Miller, the Minister of Crown Indigenous Relations at the time, introduced Bill C-29, The National Council for Reconciliation Act. Update: Bill C-29 received Royal Assent April 30, 2024 and goes toward fulfilling Call to Action 53, which calls for the creation of “an independent, national, oversight body with membership jointly appointed by the Government of Canada and national [Indigenous] organizations, and consisting of [Indigenous and non-Indigenous] members.”

So, what were the reasons for delay in establishing the National Council for Reconciliation?  The editors shed light on the issues: 

Paternalism: the deep-rooted, ongoing paternalistic attitudes and behaviours of politicians, bureaucrats, and policy-makers, resulting in a “we know best” mentality that prevents Indigenous peoples from leading on issues with their own solutions; 

Structural Anti-Indigenous Discrimination: Canada asserting legal myths to justify the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous lands and the subsequently manufactured poverty of Indigenous peoples; 

“The Public Interest”: policy-makers and Canada’s legal teams have used the interests of a non-Indigenous Canadian public to shore up their inaction on compensation for First Nations children and as the beneficiary of exploited Indigenous lands; 

Insufficient Resources: there’s no shortage of promises, but with ongoing and rampant funding inequities, meaningful reconciliation will always be out of reach; 

Reconciliation as Exploitation or Performance: in the cases where “reconciliation” purportedly occurs, exploitative or predatory behaviour is rampant; in the case of performative measures, actions serve to manage Canada’s reputation. ”

Canadians individually and collectively need to recognize and call out paternalism and discrimination when we see it.  We also need to require that our political leaders allocate appropriate resources, treat Indigenous peoples equitably, with respect, while honouring UNDRIP as well as Indigenous governance and sovereignty.  

In a sad testament to the stalled progress of the completion of the Calls to Action, the Yellowhead Institute ended its annual accountability reports in 2023. The final remark in the 2023 publication states: “There are limits to how many times you can write a report about how Canada, once again, has failed to make any meaningful progress.” They also stated: “To be clear, we are not giving up. We will continue to organize, analyze, and advocate for change in the many areas of community and academic life that continue to define our lives and work.”

Learn more about the TRC Calls to Action

There are two categories of Calls to Action:

1. Legacy Calls to Action (1–42) seek to remedy inequalities in Child Welfare, Education, Health, Culture & Language, and Justice.  Many of these injustices Indigenous peoples are still enduring. 
2. Reconciliation Calls to Action (43–94) focus on reconciliation through “a) inclusion of Indigenous peoples, b) educating Canadians on residential schools, reconciliation, and Indigenous worldviews, and c) establishing policy and practice in various sectors that uphold Indigenous Rights”. 

A lack of data and transparency makes it impossible to evaluate how much progress is being made in the Legacy Calls to Action.

Completed Calls to Action 2015-2019:

• 13: Call the Federal Government to acknowledge that Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights, 
• 41: Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (although the Calls for Justice haven’t been fully implemented), 
• 48: Call upon the church parties to the Settlement Agreement, and all other faith groups and interfaith social justice groups in Canada who have not already done so, to formally adopt and comply with the principles, norms, and standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation., 
• 49: Call upon all religious denominations and faith groups who have not already done so to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius., 
• 72: Call upon the federal government to allocate sufficient resources to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to allow it to develop and maintain the National Residential School Student Death Register established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada., 
• 83: Call upon the Canada Council for the Arts to establish, as a funding priority, a strategy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process, 
• 85: Call upon the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, as an independent non-profit broadcaster with programming by, for, and about Aboriginal peoples, to support reconciliation, including but not limited to:
  • Continuing to provide leadership in programming and organizational culture that reflects the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples.
  • Continuing to develop media initiatives that inform and educate the Canadian public, and connect Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.
• 88: Call upon all levels of government to take action to ensure long-term Aboriginal athlete development and growth, and continued support for the North American Indigenous Games, including funding to host the games and for provincial and territorial team preparation and travel.

Completed Calls to Action in 2020:

• None

Completed Calls to Action in 2021:

• 15 call upon the federal government to appoint, in consultation with Aboriginal groups, an Aboriginal Commissioner.  The commissioner should help promote Aboriginal languages and report on the adequacy of federal funding of Aboriginal-languages initiatives. 
• 80 call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process., 
• 94 call upon the Government of Canada to replace the Oath of Citizenship with the following: I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including Treaties with Indigenous Peoples, and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.

Completed Calls to Action in 2022:

• 67 Canadian Museums Association to undertake a national review of museum policies and best practices to determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and to make recommendations, 
• 70 Canadian Association of Archivists to undertake a national review of archival policies and their compliance with UNDRIP and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles and produce a report with recommendations for a reconciliation framework for Canadian archives.

Completed Calls to Action in 2023:

• None

Completed Calls to Action in 2024 (as of September):

• 19 calls for, in part, “the federal government, in consultation with Aboriginal peoples, to establish measurable goals to identify and close the gaps in health outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities”. On June 24, 2024 Bill C-226 received Royal Assent – An Act Respecting the Development of a National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and to Advance Environmental Justice
  
• 53 calls for the creation of “an independent, national, oversight body with membership jointly appointed by the Government of Canada and national [Indigenous] organizations, and consisting of [Indigenous and non-Indigenous] members.” The National Reconciliation Council Act, Bill C-29 received Royal Assent April 30, 2024

Further Learning Resources and Support

We encourage everyone to listen and learn from First Nations, Inuit and Metis voices, and consider supporting organizations that are doing the challenging and often difficult work of uncovering the truth and working towards reconciliation. Numerous resources and programs are available online including:

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website – tremendous resources for the general public, teachers and students. Their logo is featured in the image for this post (Note: we have used it with permission. It is also featured on our September newsletter). Not only is it a beautiful image, it has a very meaningful story behind it:

“The flame that burns at the centre of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) logo symbolizes the seven fires representing the Seven Sacred Teachings of respect, honesty, courage, love, humility, wisdom and truth. The fire represents our collective responsibility to care for and ensure that the fires of reconciliation lit across this country stay bright. As one looks into this fire, the image of two birds appears. These birds represent our spirits being set free when our truth is told. The two birds also represent some of the relationships that are necessary for the process of healing and reconciliation: the relationships between Survivors and intergenerational Survivors, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and between parents and children. The third small flame within the fire represents all of the children who are not yet born – those to whom we are collectively accountable in our efforts to pass on a better world.  The circle around the flame represents our duty to protect the fire while gaps in the circle – indicating East, West, North and South – welcome everyone to join the journey of reconciliation.”

Native Land – an app to help map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages. Indigenous-led, with an Indigenous Executive Director and majority Indigenous Board of Directors who oversee and direct the organization.

Woodland Cultural Centre – The site of the former Mohawk Institute one of the first residential schools in Canada, now part of Six Nations of the Grand River. They are holding an event September 30 for National Truth and Reconciliation Day, and offers a variety of tours, education programs, and workshops that offer interested visitors the opportunity to learn about an assortment of topics covering the past, present, and future of Southern Ontario’s First Nations peoples.

Yellowhead Institute: an Indigenous-led research and education centre based in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University. The Institute privileges Indigenous philosophy and amplifies Indigenous voices that provide alternatives to settler colonialism in Canada today. Rooted in community networks, Yellowhead offers critical and accessible resources to support the reclamation of Indigenous land and life. Special Report: FROM RISK TO RESILIENCE: Indigenous Alternatives to Climate Risk Assessment in Canada, Janna Wale and Brett Huson, Yellowhead Institute, September 2024 https://yellowheadinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/From-Risk-to-Resilience.pdf