Joint Statement on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report

Press Release

December 15, 2015

Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario, and David Zimmer, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, released the following statement on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report on the history and legacy of Canada’s residential school system:

“On behalf of the Government of Ontario, we would like to thank The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, Commissioners Dr. Marie Wilson and Chief Wilton Littlechild, and the entire Truth and Reconciliation Commission for assembling Canada’s most comprehensive body of testimony on the brutalities committed at residential schools. Their report offers insight into the current challenges facing Indigenous people that stem from residential schools. It also provides important opportunities to teach a new generation the truth about our shared history, and it shows how we can move forward together in a spirit of reconciliation.

We also want to acknowledge all of those who suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse at residential schools or as a result of the intergenerational harm that these abuses contributed to. With deep sadness, we have heard the stories from the Survivors and we want to thank them for their strength in bearing witness to one of the darkest chapters in Canadian history. By coming forward, they have honoured the victims who did not live to see these truths acknowledged or to see this process of reconciliation begin.

The Commission has provided us with a path of reconciliation. Our government has made it a priority to act on the Commission’s Calls to Action, released in June, by working in partnership with First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples to acknowledge and teach the history and legacy of residential schools, take action to close gaps in outcomes, and build culturally sensitive and community-based services. As we review the completed final report, released today, we will continue to work with Indigenous partners to finalize our government’s response.

Ontario has a solid foundation to build on as we act on the report. We are engaged with Indigenous partners on policies and programs that reflect the spirit and intentions of the recommendations. We are taking steps, in partnership with Indigenous communities, to ensure that Indigenous voices are heard within government, including in policy and decision making. Most recently, we signed a historic Political Accord that represents a renewal of the relationship between the First Nations and Ontario. The Political Accord is an important step in the ongoing empowerment of First Nation communities and will aid us we continue to pursue reconciliation.

As we chart a way forward that will produce tangible results, our government will look to our Indigenous partners for guidance and leadership. Reconciliation is a journey and a road that we must walk together. By strengthening a collaborative relationship between Ontario, Indigenous partners and the federal government, we will take positive steps forward and build a better future for our children and our grandchildren.”

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