The University of Manitoba will host a national research centre on residential schools following the signing of an agreement today.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and U of M are partnering on the centre, which doesn’t yet have a formalized location on campus.
The centre will inform Canadians about what happened in the 150-year history of the residential schools. Statements, documents and other materials collected by the TRC will be available to survivors and their families, scholars and the general public.
“Knowing that the TRC’s mandate ends one year from now, we knew we needed something ongoing,” TRC chair Justice Murray Sinclair told the roughly 300 people gathered to witness the historic moment on Friday morning.
“Part of that obligation is being assumed here at the U of M. It began with the president’s apology in October 2011, an academic institution taking responsibility for their part in the education [and assimilation process]. That was a factor that showed us that there was a very strong commitment here to truth and reconciliation, and the proposal by the U of M stood head and shoulders above the other proposals because it was also national in its scope.”
Updated at 1:30 p.m.
