Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

The challenge of reconciliation • 293curriculum about residential schools mandatory, and not all courses cover the subjectin depth.The Northwest Territories and Nunavut have taken a leadership role in developingand implementing mandatory curriculum about residential schools for all highschool students, in engaging Survivors directly in the development of new materials,and in ensuring that teachers receive appropriate training and support, includingdirect dialogues with Survivors. At the time of this writing, Yukon had begun the processof adapting the Northwest Territories and Nunavut materials for mandatory usein its territory. Among the provinces, Alberta publicly declared that it was launchingits own initiative to develop mandatory curriculum on the Treaties and residentialschools for all students.These education initiatives are significant, but it will be essential to ensure thatmomentum is not lost in the years following the end of the Commission’s mandate.To be successful over the long term, this and similar initiatives will require substantiveand sustained support from provincial and territorial governments, educators, andlocal school districts. An ongoing commitment from ministers of education throughoutthe country is critical. The Commission notes that on July 9, 2014, the cmecannounced that education ministersagreed to additional pan-Canadian work in Aboriginal education to take placeover the next two years, which will focus on four key directional ideas: supportfor Aboriginal students interested in pursuing teaching as a career; developmentof learning resources on Canadian history and the legacy of Indian ResidentialSchools that could be used by teacher training programs; sharing of promisingpractices in Aboriginal education; and ongoing promotion of learning aboutIndian Residential Schools in K–12 education systems. 109In regions where curriculum and teacher training on residential schools have beenintroduced, it will be necessary to build on these early successes and evaluate progresson an ongoing basis. Where education about residential schools is minimal, provincialand territorial governments can benefit from the lessons learned in jurisdictionsthat have made this material a mandatory requirement.The Commission notes that throughout the residential school era, Catholic andProtestant religious schools taught students only about their own religions. Studentswere ill prepared to understand or respect other religious or spiritual perspectives,including those of Aboriginal peoples. In our view, no religious school receiving publicfunding should be allowed to teach one religion to the complete exclusion of allother religions. This is consistent with the Supreme Court of Canada decision in S.L.v. Commission scolaire des Chênes in 2012. At issue was whether Québec’s mandatoryEthics and Religious Cultures Program, which was introduced in 2008 to replaceCatholic and Protestant programs of religious and moral instruction with a comparativereligions course taught from a neutral and objective perspective, violated charter