Current Reality
As the permanent home for all statements, documents, and other materials gathered by the TRC, the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) will ensure that:
• former students and their families have access to their own history;
• educators can share the Indian Residential School history with future generations of students;
• researchers can more deeply explore the Residential School experience;
• the public can access historical records and other materials to help foster reconciliation and healing; and
• the history and legacy of the residential school system are never forgotten.
July 20, 2023: The Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples released a report “Honouring the Children Who Never Came Home: Truth, Education and Reconciliation”. The report identified the Federal Government, Library and Archives Canada, a number of Roman Catholic entities and the governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Northwest Territories as not complying with Call to Action # 77 and releasing all documents in their possession relating to residential schools.
Nov. 9, 2022: Canada announced $60 million in funding towards the overall cost of the Centre’s new facility. With this funding, the NCTR will build an international learning centre where Survivors, their families and people from across Canada and around the world can come to learn the truth about residential schools. With this support, the NCTR will fulfill its vision of a home for sacred items, millions of historical records, and thousands of Survivor statements gathered during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) — along with many other sacred items and records that will be gathered in the years to come.
In addition, today the Government of Canada announced funding of $28.5 million over five years for the NCTR to continue its vital work, including collecting, reviewing, and making accessible residential school records, and supporting community-led efforts to locate and identify unmarked burials. The funding will support numerous initiatives including the National Residential School Student Death Register, the online National Cemetery Register, and the National Advisory Committee on Missing Children and Unmarked Burials.
The NCTR Pre-Budget Submission 2022 had asked for $92.5M over 5 years: $60M for new facility, $25M to support ongoing operating costs and $7.5M for C2A 76 Missing Children and Unmarked Graves Project.
Other News:
Aug. 19, 2022: NCTR and its host University of Manitoba is honoured to announce that the Honourable Murray Sinclair, Mizhana Gheezhik (The One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky) will be joining us as a Special Advisor/Elder-in-Residence this fall. In his new role, Honourable Sinclair will be providing Indigenous law guidance and expert advice to the NCTR and its Governance Structure as we continue the work of Truth and Reconciliation.
The University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, its Dean, students, and staff will utilize his expertise as a knowledge keeper specializing in Indigenous culture and law to support its ongoing journey in meeting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Calls to Action.
July 20, 2022: The Govt. of Canada and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation announce the new National Advisory Committee on Residential Schools Missing Children and Unmarked Graves