Head of Truth and Reconciliation Commission wants Saskatchewan Metis heard

REGINA – The head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says former students at two Metis boarding schools in northern Saskatchewan should be afforded the same recognition as residential school survivors.

Ottawa refuses to place the boarding schools that operated in Timber Bay and Ile-a-la Crosse under the list of facilities approved in the Indian Residential School Agreement.

Chief Commissioner Murray Sinclair says the TRC is even coming back to Saskatchewan for hearings next week to give those Metis a chance to be heard.

He says they are crucial to telling the “true story” of residential schools in Canada, as well as the whole process of reconciliation.

He says he doesn’t know that the Metis are looking for compensation so much as they are looking for a recognition that their treatment was the same as others.

Sinclair says he does not expect many Metis to appear at the hearing in Ile-a-la Crosse, since many have been advised not to participate until their legal position has been determined.

(CJME)