Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

Commission activities • 33In the hearing held from July 14 to 16, 2014, the Commission advanced the positionthat a notice program should be ordered by the court, which would allow iapclaimants to be notified that they may share their iap testimony with the Commissionshould they so desire. The Commission narrowed the categories of documents itsought to preserve in recognition of the legitimate privacy interests of iap Survivors.The Commission argued that it sought only to archive the iap applications, transcripts,and audio recordings from iap hearings and iap adjudicator decisions.On August 6, 2014, Justice Perell delivered reasons in which he held that the iapdocuments would be subject to a fifteen-year retention period, during which a noticeprogram to Survivors would be administered by the Commission or the NationalCentre for Truth and Reconciliation. 8 The precise parameters of the notice programwould be decided by the court in a subsequent hearing. Importantly, Justice Perellruled that every copy of the iap documents, no matter who possesses them, must bedestroyed after the conclusion of the retention period if the iap claimants do not consentto having the documents archived.Justice Perell also directed that the Commission commence a further Request forDirection and return to court for a determination of the issue of the parameters of anotice program to inform Survivors about their option to archive their iap applications,the transcripts and audio recordings of their hearings, and the decisions withthe Commission. The Commission (along with the National Centre for Truth andReconciliation) has been entrusted to commence further proceedings to determinehow to engage claimants in the exercise of ensuring informed consent on the issue ofthe fate of their records.Justice Perell’s ruling is the subject of appeal. 9 The Commission feels strongly thatany steps taken to ensure that the informed consent of Survivors is obtained must berobust, culturally appropriate, and sensitive to the challenges of contacting Survivors,some of whom cannot read, have problems speaking English or French, and residein remote locations. The Commission believes that it is not enough that a notice simplybe mailed to the last known address of Survivors. A multi-faceted and personalapproach that actively engages Survivors is required.The Commission strongly believes that Survivors’ stories must be preserved. Theloss of these documents would be a blow to Canada’s national memory of a significanthistoric injustice, could contribute to the possibility that future generations wouldnever know of the abuses in residential schools, and could contribute to the argumentof those who would assert that this never happened. The Commission intends to vigorouslyadvance a position to prevent the destruction of the iap documents withoutthe informed consent of individual Survivors.