Creating the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and Proactive Disclosure Under the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Act

Abstract

More than 4,000 lawsuits were filed against Canada and the Christian churches that operated Canada's Indian Residential Schools. A settlement agreement put an end to these lawsuits. One part of the settlement agreement created Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and one part of the mandate given to the TRC was to create a national research centre, now known as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). This paper tells the story of how the TRC created the NCTR with a particular focus on the legal documents that created the NCTR. This paper examines the contents of the Trust Deed and Administrative Agreement between the TRC and the University of Manitoba (the U of M created the NCTR). This paper also examines why a new law, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Act (which came into effect in 2015), was enacted by the Manitoba legislature and what the new law's provisions are. The NCTR Act is unique in Canada for its preamble about how Canada has treated its indigenous peoples and for expressly providing for proactive disclosure of the NCTR's records, subject to certain limitations.