Truth to Reconciliation: Towards a Just Future for the Indigenous People of Canada - Full day of panels
A conference organized in partnership between the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute).
Coming on the heels of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the undeniable evidence of overwhelming injustice suffered by the Indigenous peoples of Canada, this conference will examine the urgent moral challenge for Canada to deal with its colonial past and present, and to radically reconceive itself in order to create a just future.
The conference will begin at 16:30 on Tuesday 8 March with an introductory panel about the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission as told by people who were themselves involved in that work.
The conference will continue from 8:30-17:30 on Wednesday 9 March with panels exploring the potential for reconciliation through the lens of three relationships: with our shared and now fully revealed history; with the land; and between nations.
Dr. Phil Fontaine, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, will give a Public Keynote Address, 13h30-14h30, on Wednesday, March 9.
All welcome
The event will be structured as a series of discussions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous panelists invited by both McGill and IIGHRS, and endeavour to create spaces for innovative thinking and cross-cultural dialogue. The panels will be focused on how to make these relationships more meaningful for all involved by promoting a more comprehensive understanding of the stakes on all sides. Each panel will be moderated by a member of the McGill University Faculty of Law.
Register to this event on EventBright. A detailed program will be available shortly.
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
- Phil Fontaine, President of Ishkonigan Inc. and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
- Douglas White, Director of the Centre for Pre-Confederation Treaties and Reconciliation, Vancouver Island University and former Chief of the Snuneymuxw First Nation
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
- Aaron Mills - Trudeau Scholar and Doctoral Candidate, University of Victoria
- Aimée Craft - Research Director, National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation
- Anthony Hall - Professor of Globalization Studies, University of Lethbridge and author of Earth into Property
- Armand MacKenzie - Legal Consultant to the Innu Nation and Senior Director of Government and Stakeholder Relations for Tata Steel Minerals Canada
- Bob Watts - Vice-President (Government and Corporate Relations), First Peoples Group and Former Chief Executive Officer of the Assembly of First Nations
- David MacDonald - Associate Professor, University of Guelph and consultant to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission
- Maureen Hiebert Associate Professor, University of Calgary
- Roger Smith - Professor Emeritus, College of William & Mary
