National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation gets $5M toward permanent home, urges province for more funding

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is getting a big donation from a charitable organization, but the record-keeping body says it urgently needs more money to give its collection a permanent home.

The Winnipeg Foundation announced Thursday it will be donating $5 million to help support the building of a permanent home for the NCTR in the city.

The centre, which collects historical records, sacred items and the statements of residential school survivors, has been operating out of a temporary facility on the UM campus since it was established in 2015. But it says its current location can't accommodate its collection — the largest compilation of materials showing the impacts of residential school system in the world.

In 2022, the federal government announced it would contribute $60 million toward the project, which will be built in a 2-acre parcel of land gifted by the University of Manitoba. Funding for the NCTR was one of the 94 calls to action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015.

But Stephanie Scott, executive director for NCTR, said the organization still needs more funding to make the building a reality.

"We still have about $35 million more to raise and we're really relying on all Canadians, all governments to participate in the development of that and finish constructions while survivors are still here with us," she said.

"We know the urgency. We want to have survivors witness their truths and on the road and the path to reconciliation."

The NCTR set a 2029 target date for the opening of its permanent home, which it says will be a safe place for survivors and their families to share their stories.

The project was first announced in 2021. Scott said the NCTR wanted to make sure they consulted with survivors to make their vision a reality.

"We wanted to really go out to community ... to be really clear about what they wanted, how they wanted to see themselves represented, everything from the landscapes to the rooms to being inside, the programming," she said.

"We're hoping that one day that we can also create holograms with survivors and interview them now and ask them thousands and thousands of questions."

Sky Bridges, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Foundation, said this is the largest gift the foundation has given to an Indigenous-led organization and its second-largest donation ever.

He said he hopes the donation spurs others to contribute.

"We certainly believe that us being a lead in this donation will draw other attention of other donors, whether that be individuals, corporations or governments, to consider the importance of this centre," he said. 

"We believe that whenever you move forward on a path, others will follow."

'Nobody wanted to talk the truth'

A red banner showing the names of thousand Indigenous children who died while attending residential schools was rolled out during a ceremony preceding the announcement, and then put on top of the Bentwood Box — an item symbolizing the path toward reconciliation.

Members of the NCTR's survivors circle gave speeches before and after, talking about the importance of sharing their stories.

Eugene Arcand was in a residential school from 1958 to 1969. He was part of the TRC's Indian Residential Schools Survivor Committee.

"Nobody wanted to talk about the truth. The only ones that wanted to talk about the truth was us, the survivors," he said.

"We didn't only hear, but we felt when we were being misled. But we also felt it when people were genuine, like what we're experiencing today with the investment by the Winnipeg Foundation.... But before that could happen, complacency had set in in Canada."

Scott said the NCTR is in discussions with the Manitoba government to secure more funding.

"Premier Kinew, if you're listening, please come forward," she said.

"We're asking for $20 million or more, whatever you can give to the survivors on behalf of their families and all Canadians in order to educate. What really needs to be told is the truth."