An Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge has ruled on the question of what should happen to the historical records created by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that examined the Indian Residential Schools. The Chief Adjudicator for the Independent Assessment Process, which looked at compensation for wrongful acts suffered by students at the schools, wanted the documents destroyed. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission wanted the documents, which it regards as an irreplaceable historical record, to be archived at Library and Archives Canada. Justice Perell began his judgment by asking “Can and should this court order that documents that contain information about what happened at the Indian Residential Schools be destroyed? My answer to this question is: yes, but only after a 15-year retention period, during which the survivors of the Indian Residential Schools may choose to spare some of their documents from destruction and instead have the documents with redactions to protect the personal information of others transferred to the National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.” He ordered that a notice program must be set up to inform claimants about the archiving process if they consent. He noted that “It is the survivor’s story to tell or not tell and it is the survivor’s individual decision that must be respected.”
Fontaine v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONSC 4585 (CanLII)
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