Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Feb. 12th, 2009

[Caroline Davis]

Yes, there was. The community impacts working group did discuss, as you said, the possibilities of adverse impacts.

For instance, we worked with band administrators to make sure that information was available on how to make a will, how to manage an estate, because for the first time people would have substantial amounts of money to leave, potentially.

We are going to be reinvigorating this community impacts working group because there have been some stories in the press recently that have been disturbing. We would like to try to, again, as far as we can, work with communities to prevent those kinds of things.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

I think it's critical, so I appreciate that response.

There's a second piece I want to go over. I understand that in order for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to have any success, it has to act autonomously from the department. But I also understand that the department provided some services in kind. I think you mentioned the operational administrative set-up of the TRC.

Could you comment on what those operational administrative things were? As well, can you briefly comment, if you will, on the role of the church or churches, and whether any deference was given to the traditional element of this in helping administer the TRC?

[Caroline Davis]

I can comment from the point of view of the government, perhaps not so much from the point of view of the churches.

Government has, as you know, certain accountability requirements that have to be met. My colleague who'll be before you in a few minutes is the acting executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We have been supporting her as far as we possibly can, in terms of providing systems and qualified people who can administer government programs, experts in finance program management, that kind of thing. The aim of all that has been to ensure that they can meet the requirements of the Financial Administration Act.

For the churches, I don't think I can really add anything there, sorry. It will be really for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to get up and running and find the support that it needs where it can find it.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Okay.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We're going to go to Mr. Clarke.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

I'm very interested in this. My mother, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles all attended residential school, so it is very dear to me. We look at the residential schools as being negative, but there were good times also in the schools, from what I was told by my elders. They got an education. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for an education.

The question I have, and forgive me if I'm not clear, is that in order for the students and the children to go, there's some wording in the agreement on parenting and the residential schools. Do you by chance have that wording with regard to the criteria for the schools to be acting as a parent?

[A voice]

Parental relationship.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Yes, sorry, parental relationship.

[Caroline Davis]

Yes. I referred to it in my speech. Would you like me to run through that again?

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Under section 12. It's the parental role. This has a really big impact for schools and being selected.

[Caroline Davis]

Yes.

It reflects the fact that at a residential school children are in the care of members of the religious order that runs it, or the teachers that run it, as opposed to their parents. The intergenerational impacts of that, of course, are quite severe, in that when children grow up in a loving and kindly atmosphere, they tend to treat their own children that way. It's the loss of parenting skills that came from attendance at residential schools that we've been trying to address.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

When the students were in the residential school, the schools were a parent. Is that correct? Did they have a parenting role?

[Caroline Davis]

They were in loco parentis, yes.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

How is the language selected—

[Caroline Davis]

The language in the school?

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

—and as interpreted now?

[Caroline Davis]

Well, the language of the agreement was negotiated between the parties.

Do you want to comment on this, Paul?

[Paul Vickery]

Yes. Certainly the specific language of the settlement agreement was the subject of extensive discussion over quite an extended period of time. There was a variety of viewpoints put forward. The ultimate language was arrived at by consensus.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

You've still got 20 seconds. If you wanted to have a quick one, that would be fine.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Is that language with Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada through interpretation, case by case?

[Caroline Davis]

We certainly work within the terms of the agreement but, as I said, to try to put the benefit of the doubt in favour of the applicants.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

The article there is based on interpretation.

[Caroline Davis]

Well, there is interpretation and there's a growing interpretation as we go through the appeals. The information that we're getting from that will be precedential.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Thank you very much.

I appreciate the members sticking to the timelines tightly. We're dealing with a tight timeline here. That's a lead-in that in our next round we're going to try to keep to three minutes, if we can. We've got 15 minutes left with the officials here on this particular subject.

Let's proceed to Madame Folco for three minutes.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

If there is any time left over, I would like to share it with my colleague Mr. Russell.

First of all, Ms. Davis, I must apologize for arriving late, but that in no way diminishes the importance of this issue.

Concerning the commission, we can assume that it is important for the commission to be entirely independent of the government, regardless of which party forms the government. I don't need an answer to that. The answer seems pretty obvious. If the answer is yes, what has been done to ensure that the secretariat and the commissioners are not subject to any kind of government interference?

I have a second question for you. I'm sorry I'm speaking so quickly, but I have only three minutes.

What protective measures have been taken to ensure that the evaluation process is free from any government interference?