VICTORIA - In a moving ceremony today, during the last of the national events hosted by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), British Columbia provided data about the deaths of Aboriginal children between the ages of four and 19 years for the period 1870 - 1984.

The documents were offered during the Expressions of Reconciliation and will help to inform the TRC’s Missing Children Project. In December 2013, B.C. released the death registration information of children aged four to 19 who died between 1870 and 1956. B.C. was the first province to release this information to the TRC.

As part of its examination into the history of Indian Residential Schools (IRS), the TRC is undertaking research into the history of children who died or went missing while in the care of IRS officials.

Similar to other historical research being conducted by the TRC, research into the issue of missing children covers the entire period of IRS operations. Where possible, the TRC is reviewing relevant material that may be in the archives of non-signatory parties, such as provincial and municipal governments.

The data was compiled by B.C.’s Vital Statistics Agency, part of the Ministry of Health. The Vital Statistics Agency provided 4,900 death registrations for the period between 1870 and 1984. The TRC will review each record to determine if the deaths occurred in Indian Residential Schools in B.C.

Quotes:

Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, John Rustad -  

“Reconciliation is our collective journey. Providing this data is one way to continue healing the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians and an opportunity for the Province of British Columbia to make a contribution to healing the terrible wound left behind by Indian Residential Schools.”

Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Justice, Murray Sinclair -

“I commend the Province of British Columbia for its contribution to the TRC’s Missing Children Project. B.C. has set the bar for all other Canadian provinces and territories in terms of providing vital statistics data and documents to the TRC. Now that B.C. has taken the lead, other jurisdictions are coming forward with data and documents to help determine the extent of deaths and disappearances of Aboriginal children who attended Canada’s residential schools.”

Quick Facts:

• On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on behalf of all Canadians, offered a historic formal apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools and sought forgiveness for the students’ suffering and for the damaging impact the schools had on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language.
• Indian Residential Schools operated from the 1870s until 1996, when the last school was closed. This covers more than five generations of Aboriginal people.
• More than 150,000 children, some as young as four years of age, attended government-funded, church-run residential schools. It is estimated that some 80,000 survivors are still alive today.
• Established in 2008, the TRC is one of the components of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which was negotiated by the Government of Canada, Aboriginal organizations, the churches and former students. Its purpose is to create a lasting, positive legacy of the stories and experiences of Indian Residential School survivors.
• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has organized seven national events across Canada, including one in Vancouver held from Sept. 18-21, 2013.

To view a photo of Minister Rustad and the Province’s offering to the TRC, visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos/sets/72157626169219923/

Media Contacts:

Nina Chiarelli
Communications Director
Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation
250 953-3211