Event

A Look at the Truth & Reconciliation Commission

Wednesday, June 2, 2021 10:30to12:00

The residential school era in Canada lasted over 100 years. Thousands of Indigenous children were harmed psychologically, physically, sexually and spiritually casting a soul wound across generations. For more than a decade survivor’s were making motions for legal and civil actions to be taken against the Canadian government and Churches. In 2007 a national agreement was made to compensate survivors for the harm done to children and families by church and state. The Settlement Agreement was reached. The Settlement Agreement included five different types of elements to address the legacy of Indian Residential Schools. In this session we will explore these elements. One of the elements is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which we will examine in detail. We will look at the process of this historical commission over their years of operation and how they carefully approached survivors to gather the stories.

Particular focus will be on the calls to action and what this means for Canadians. Participants will be invited to explore, share views and find ways to engage in the calls to action via small breakout rooms.

Prof. Wanda Gabriel, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Co-Director Indigenous Access McGill. She has worked nationally on several projects such as the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, The Canadian Aboriginal Aids Network, National Parole Board of Canada, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In her University role, she is the Co-Director for the Qualifying Year for Master of Social Work degree. She is also the Co-Director of Indigenous Access McGill. She is presently involved with a research team composed of partners from Concordia University, Quebec Native Women and Elizabeth Fry Association. The project is to identify the rehabilitation needs of Indigenous women in Quebec’s provincial prison and to assess the institutional policies that support and constrain Indigenous women’s capacity for rehabilitation.

Back to top