Canadian Indian Residential Schools-Timeline

January 4, 2011

July 1,2009

June 11, 2008

• Justice Murray Sinclair became the new Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, while Chief Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson assumed the responsibilities of Commissioners.

June 1, 2008

• Spiritual leaders of Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches, along with representatives of Roman Catholic Church, leaders of the five national Aboriginal organizations, and the other signatories of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement were in the House of Commons to hear Prime Minister Stephen Harper offer a Statement of Apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools.

• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission jointly launched a $20 million commemoration initiative, which provided former students, their families and communities the opportunity to pay tribute to their experiences by acknowledging the impacts of the residential school system

September 19, 2007

1996

• Justice Harry Laforme was appointed Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Morley were appointed as Commissioners. Justice Laforme resigned on October 20, 2008 and the remaining Commissioners resigned effective June 1, 2009.

• Implementation of the IRSSA began.

The implementation of this agreement brought a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools. Former students could now benefit from the individual and collective measures provided by the IRSSA:

• A Common Experience Payment for all eligible former students of Indian Residential Schools
• An Independent Assessment Process for claims of sexual or serious physical abuse
• Measures to support healing
• Commemoration
• The establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission

April 1, 2007

1876

• The final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was released. It recommends a public investigation into violence and abuses at residential schools and brings the experiences of former students to national attention

November 2003

• Launch of the Advocacy and public information program.

• The Government of Canada launches the National Resolution Framework, which includes a litigation strategy, health supports, a Commemoration program and an Alternative Dispute Resolution process.

• The Indian Act is enacted. It contains a number of clauses that allow the federal government to establish Indian Residential Schools.

June 16-19, 2010

October 15, 2009

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission held its first national event in Winnipeg, Manitoba. During the event, Canada announced its intent to repeal sections of the Indian Act that allowed for the establishment of Indian Residential Schools and the removal of children from their homes and communities.

Residential Schools

Governor General Michaelle Jean re-launched the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

• Governor General to serve as witness to survivors' accounts of Indian Residential Schools legacy

• Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission "Witnessing the Future" Ceremony

June 2001

May 10,2006

• The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was approved by all parties the Agreement. It is the largest class action settlement in Canadian history

• Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada was created as a separate department with the mandate to address the legacy of Indian Residential Schools and to manage and resolve claims.

May 30,2005

150,000 Aboriginal children were removed and separated from their families and communities to attend residential schools. There were over 139 schools located in every province and territory except Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. While most Indian Residential Schools ceased to operate by the mid-1970s, the last federally-run school closed in the late 1990s.

• The Government of Canada appointed the Honourable Frank Iacobucci to work with legal counsel for former students, legal counsel for churches and other representatives of former students, including the Assembly of First Nations and other Aboriginal organizations, to conclude an agreement that would address not only cases of abuse but also the broader harms arising from the Indian Residential School experience.

• Government launched an Advance payment program for eligible former Indian Residential School students who were 65 years of age or older.

August 18, 2010

March 2007

• The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement received approval from nine courts across Canada. This launched a five month opt-out period in which former students could choose to reject the IRSSA

• The Government of Canada apologizes to the Inuit families who were forcibly relocated to the High Arctic.

1998

• The Government of Canada announced Gathering Strength, Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. The Plan included the establishment of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and a Statement of Reconciliation.

Canadian Indian Residential Schools Timeline