Remaining 2 members resign from residential schools commission

The two remaining commissioners on the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission have stated their intentions to resign, launching a search for three new people to serve on the commission.

On Friday, commissioners Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Morley indicated they will step aside from their roles effective June 1.

"It was a great honour to have been chosen as commissioners," Dumont-Smith and Morley stated in a joint press release. "However, we have become convinced that the time has come for us to step aside and let others take on this demanding but rewarding mission."

Justice Harry LaForme resigned from his role as chair of the commission in October. In his letter of resignation, LaForme stated he was unable to work with his two co-commissioners, who weren't accepting his authority to make decisions.

LaForme said he couldn't "surrender" his vision for the commission to a pair of "relative strangers" to the complex relationship between aboriginals and other Canadians.

He also suggested the two commissioners were under the impression their role was equal to his as chairman.

Following LaForme's resignation, some groups — including the National Residential Schools Survivor Society — argued that all three commissioners should be replaced to ensure the process had credibility.

'Relieved and encouraged'

"We're relieved and encouraged that the commissioners have resigned …and that the commission can get a kick-start," said Michael Cachagee, spokesman for the society.

Former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci will chair the new selection committee, said Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The selection committee will begin work immediately, Strahl said Friday.

"There's obviously names generated before and we'll be keen to make a genuine search for individuals to come forward to take on one of the most important challenges facing not just our aboriginal Canadians, but non-aboriginal Canadians," Iacobucci said.

The committee will welcome nominations for people to serve on the commission, as well as consider candidates on its own, Iacobucci said.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created as a result of the court-approved Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement that was negotiated in 2006 between former students, churches, the federal government, the Assembly of First Nations and other aboriginal organizations.

The commission's responsibility is to document the generations of abuse that took place in the government-funded, church-run schools and to find a way to move past those painful experiences.

Roles clarified

Because LaForme has spoken publicly about problems surrounding the roles of chair and commissioner, the selection committee will also clarify the roles, Iacobucci said in a press release.

"The sole reason that the commissioners are resigning is because they believe that making a fresh start is in the best interests of furthering the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission," Iacobucci said in a statement.

The selection committee includes Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, as well as representatives for the Inuit, Métis, the Department of Indian Affairs, churches and claimants.

Fontaine said he doesn't see the latest resignations as an indication that the commission is falling apart.

"We have an opportunity to do this right," Fontaine said. "I don't believe the credibility of the … commission has been compromised in any way. What we've faced is a time delay and now we're faced with making sure we carry out what needs to be done."

Fontaine said he is confident new candidates will be able to fill the needed roles.

"We know that there are many committed and interested people out there," he said. "I don't personally see this as an impossible task. In fact I am very confident that we will find three outstanding committed individuals to serve."