Notification program for residential school records problematic, say interveners in case

Two people who acted as interveners in the Supreme Court case that decided the fate of residential school survivor testimonies are raising concerns about the process in place to preserve those records.

The program was formally announced on Monday. Survivors can choose to preserve their records or obtain a personal copy. If they don't do either, their testimonies will be destroyed on Sept. 19, 2027.

Family members cannot consent on behalf of survivors who have died, meaning the records of people who have died in the time between their claim and the launch of myrecordsmychoice.ca will be destroyed.

According to B.C-based Kwagiulth artist Carey Newman, who started a group that intervened in the Supreme Court case that decided the fate of survivors testimonies, the destruction of those records could leave a huge hole in Canada's history.

"That was, maybe, the most heartbreaking part of this," Newman said.

"Those survivors who have passed on, or who maybe don't ever hear about this notification program who went through the incredibly difficult process of telling their story, and who did it with the intention of having that story preserved on the record, they have lost their voice."

Newman said his group, the Coalition for Truth, advocated for a process that would redact survivors names from their testimonies, with an opt-in process for survivors to choose whether or not their names are included in the document.

They have lost their voice.- Carey Newman

Newman said it is unclear how many residential school survivors have died since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings were released.

He said losing such important information could potentially play into false narratives about residential schools.

"If they are allowed to let these be deleted in 2027, then that just feeds into that narrative that we already start to see happening, where people are downplaying the intention of residential schools, or the impacts of them," he said.

"It's really really disheartening as a person who looks at reconciliation as a long-term process."

He said the question of what happens to a survivors records should have been asked when their testimonies were collected, not after the fact.

Newman said that if only 10 per cent of survivors choose to opt-in, only 3,800 records would exist.

He encouraged survivors who may be on the fence about preserving their records to think of the benefits to the future generations before asking for them to be destroyed.

Opt-in process not ideal for survivors: Newman

Newman also expressed concern about the tone of the messaging on the site.

"The way that those choices are delivered is also going to have a dramatic impact on how many [survivors] choose to keep their records," Newman said.

He said the fact that the website seems to be a mostly digital effort, with some television and radio advertising, will also impact how many survivors choose to preserve their records.

Newman noted there will be no community engagement or information sessions hosted to raise awareness about the opt-in process.

He said his own father — a survivor who chose not to participate in the Independent Assessment Process for personal reasons and instead entered a Common Experience Payment — is not a tech savvy man. Newman said it's unlikely someone like his father would go out of his way to obtain the necessary documents to consent to his story being released.

"By not bringing it to survivors in all ways possible, I think that that's going to mean maybe they'll hear a little bit about it, but the likelihood of them going online and downloading the form that they need to sign or send in to have their records sent to them or preserved, is diminished greatly," he said.

"With 38,000 [survivors] that's a massive undertaking."

Process documents would also be destroyed

Newman said it's not just the testimonies of survivors that would be destroyed in 2027.

The documents that dictated the process followed in the Independent Claims Process would also be deleted.

"Those will currently, no matter what, be destroyed, and that leaves the [Independent Claims Process] and the people who put that process together in the first place, zero accountability for the way that they made their decisions."

He said those records should be preserved because they are a part of Canadian history.

'A very difficult decision'

Ry Moran, the director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Manitoba, said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission first asked what would happen to survivor records in 2014.

He said it's been a challenging process and the fact that the testimonies of residential school survivors contain very sensitive material needed to be considered.

"The courts themselves were wrestling with a less-than-ideal situation, to tell you the truth," Moran said.

He said the court essentially had to choose between sacrificing individual privacy to preserve all records or risk losing some testimonies and create a process for survivors to opt-in.

He said the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, which also acted as an intervener in the Supreme Court case, had to weigh historical value against the trauma survivors experienced.

Moran said the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation was guided by survivors in backing the preservation of all records when they appeared before the courts.

He said the opt-in process that was announced on Monday is essentially a compromise between all of the parties who were involved in the court process.

"It would have been nice to see this dealt with earlier on, so that we're not in this very awkward either, either scenario that we're in," Moran said.

"The critical thing is to make sure that survivors have the opportunity to exercise their free, prior and informed consent in terms of what they want to do with their history."

What does Sept. 19, 2027 look like?

Moran asked if the destruction of residential school records is simply an IT officer pressing delete, or would there be a more formal ceremony, and if so, who would be involved, and what do they say?

"What do we say at that point in time about reconciliation, or what is the status of reconciliation in this country?" Moran asked. "What do we say about the status of healing in this country?"

He said the date really isn't that far away and that it's important to think hard about what will happen, and how we collectively feel as a nation on Sept. 27, 2027.