Statement on Survivor Testimony and Independent Assessment Process (IAP) Records
Press Release
February 02 2026
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is issuing this statement to clarify its role in the preservation of Survivor testimony provided in the confidential Independent Assessment Process (IAP) claims compensation process, and to provide information about court-mandated records management decisions related to the IAP. In particular, the Supreme Court of Canada mandated destruction of IAP claims compensation records in a 2017 case, in which the NCTR participated in efforts to preserve IAP records in recognition of their historical importance.
Survivor testimony shared through the IAP reflects courage, truth, and lived experience. Survivor accounts in the IAP process, shared with the NCTR with the Survivor’s express consent, are part of a living history that continues to shape understanding, healing, truth and reconciliation.
The IAP and the earlier Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process were court-supervised compensation processes established under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Survivors who participated in the IAP were required to share deeply personal testimony as part of their application and hearing process. At the time, Survivors were promised confidentiality, and many relied on that assurance when deciding to participate.
As documented in the Independent Assessment Process Final Report (2021), the Supreme Court of Canada issued binding decisions governing what would happen to IAP records at the conclusion of the process. The Court ruled that most IAP records were to be destroyed shortly after the Court’s decision was rendered. A limited set of records, specifically IAP applications, audio recordings and transcripts of Survivor testimony, and adjudicators’ decisions, were required to be retained for a fixed period of 15 years, expiring September 2027.
During the retention period, Survivors have the opportunity and right to decide whether they wish to preserve their records, whether by obtaining a copy for themselves and/or preserving their records through the NCTR.
Unless a Survivor, on their own behalf, affirmatively chooses preservation, IAP records, including hearing testimony and adjudication decisions, will be permanently destroyed at the end of the retention period (September 2027).
The destruction of the IAP claim records, with the exception of those preserved with the consent of Survivors, is required by the final and binding order made by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2017. The NCTR cannot change this order that the records must be destroyed.
The NCTR engaged in court proceedings and public education efforts to support Survivor choice and record preservation within the limits of the Court’s rulings.
The Centre is committed to supporting Survivors and families through awareness, so they are empowered to make choices that honour their truths and their wishes, and to support the preservation of living history where consent has been given.
This clarification applies only to records created through the IAP individual claims compensation process. Survivor testimony shared with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was gathered under a different mandate and is preserved at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. With a mandate to document the history and legacy of the residential school system, the NCTR would never destroy Survivor testimonies in our care.
ILR4
