Action!

Aboriginal issues: from human
rights to Truth and Reconciliation
Aboriginal human rights issues must be addressed in
Ontario. The OHRC is seeking input from members
of the Aboriginal community on human rights issues
of concern. For example, our Aboriginal Steering
Committee is building relationships and knowledge
to expand our work
We are proud of our partnership with the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).
The TRC was established as a result of the 2007
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
Its mandate is to inform all Canadians about what
happened in the 150-year history of the residential
schools, and to guide and inspire a process of
reconciliation based on mutual understanding
and respect. In 2012, Barbara Hall was named an
Honorary Witness to the TRC, and we worked
together on some key events.
In June 2012, Barbara Hall and Commissioners
Maggie Wente and Larry McDermott hosted
a session at “The Meeting Place,” a two-day
intergenerational regional gathering. This event, hosted
by a cooperative of Aboriginal and supporting
organizations, was designed to “promote respect,
education and engagement on the
Indian Residential School System.”
In a session on “Human rights in
Ontario: From Rights to Reconciliation,” we provided
information about the Human Rights Code, Ontario’s
human rights system, and how the OHRC can play
a role in reconciliation. We also asked people to
continue the conversation with us, by letting us know
other ways that we could support reconciliation
and respect for the Aboriginal Peoples in Ontario.
In August 2012, the OHRC partnered with the
TRC to present “Shared Perspectives, An Evening
of Reconciliation” as part of the Planet IndigenUS
Festival at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. This
evening featured TRC Chair Justice Murray Sinclair,
performances by dancers and drummers from the
Aboriginal and Black communities, and an authors’
dialogue between writer-storytellers Itah Sadu
and Richard Wagamese, moderated by broadcast
journalist Shelagh Rogers.
This event widened the reconciliation conversation
between Aboriginal communities and other racialized
Canadian communities.
Photo by Priscilla Goulais
Barbara Hall took part in discussions on human
rights issues affecting First Nations people at
the Union of Ontario Indians head office on
Nipissing First Nation near North Bay. From
left to right: Melvin McLeod, Human Resources
Manager, Nipissing First Nation: Barbara Hall:
Maurice Switzer, Director of Communications,
Union of Ontario Indians: Nancy Potvin, Program
Manager, North Bay Indian Friendship Centre; and Fred Bellefeuille, Legal Department Director,
Union of Ontario Indians.
The group is seen with the Covenant Chain Wampum Belt exchanged with the British at the Treaty
of Niagara Congress in July, 1764. In accepting the Wampum, many presents and promises
by the Crown in Canada, Indigenous peoples around the Great Lakes accepted the terms of the
1763 Royal Proclamation, which recognized them as Nations – peoples with inherent rights.
These rights are specifically mentioned in Section 35 of the Constitution of Canada.
Ontario Human Rights Commission • 2012-2013 Annual Report 25