Question Period Note: Sharing of Indian Residential Schools Documents

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About

Reference number:
CIR-2025-QP-2862
Date received:
May 23, 2025
Organization:
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Name of Minister:
Alty, Rebecca (Hon.)
Title of Minister:
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Issue/Question:

N/A

Suggested Response:

• Through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, Canada disclosed approximately 4 million historical documents with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to preserve the legacy of Indian Residential Schools.
• To further these efforts, in 2022 the Government committed to sharing further records related to the administration of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and any documents that may not have been previously shared.
• The Government continues its work on retrieval of these documents.

Background:

N/A

Additional Information:

• The Documents Advisory Committee advanced this work through the provision of strategic direction and leadership, including on the development of a comprehensive definition of an Indian Residential School Document.
• In June 2023, it was announced that over 23 million potentially relevant School documents had been identified, although many are expected to be duplicates.
• On August 23, 2024, the Committee Chairperson advised that non-government Indigenous members of the Committee are suspending their role due to lack of funding support.
• We remain committed to continuing the work to identify and collect Indian Residential School-related documents.