Question Period Note: Residential Schools – National Advisory Committee deciding against involvement in the process with the International Commission on Missing Persons

• Finding answers for the families of children who attended Residential Schools and went missing is at the heart of reconciliation.
• We respect the National Advisory • Finding answers for the families of children who attended Residential Schools and went missing is at the heart of reconciliation.
• We respect the National Advisory Committee’s position. We will continue to work with them and other implicated Indigenous partners to create a national DNA strategy.

• We will support Indigenous communities who have expressed a desire to enlist the expertise of the International Commission on Missing Persons.
• Canada has signed a Technical Arrangement with the Commission in response to the Indigenous calls for the work to be done independent from the Government.

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If pressed on why Canada has selected the ICMP for this work

• The Commission was selected for this work due to their unique capacity as a treaty-based international organization that is independent of national governments, including Canada, in carrying out its activities.
• The Commission is the largest organization globally that exclusively works on the issue of missing persons.
• The suggestion to engage the Commission came initially from some of the Indigenous communities.
• Any work conducted by the ICMP would be independent from the Government of Canada.

If pressed on NAC and Indigenous communities consultation on the Technical Arrangement

• There was no formal consultation on the International Commission on Missing Persons and its Technical Arrangement itself, as it pre-dates the creation of the National Advisory Committee.
• Both were intended to be complimentary, to support communities, and respectful of each organization’s capacity. No single organization on its own can develop this strategy so that Survivors are able to see results in their lifetime.
• CIRNAC has been in discussions with National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and its National Advisory Committee about the Commission role and project, working towards amending the Technical Arrangement to reflect suggestions brought forward by our Indigenous partners.