AMC Calls on ISC and Minister Hajdu to End Obstruction and Release Critical Records for Residential School Investigations

July 30, 2024
Treaty One Territory, Manitoba
AMC Communications
Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg – The Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling on Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and Minister Patty Hajdu to stop obstructing access to the Indian Registrar and other essential records needed to complete the investigation into the deaths of First Nations children who attended Residential Schools in Manitoba. Information about ISC’s role in prolonging the investigation became public knowledge this week as part of the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples: Missing Records, Missing Children.
“The Indian Registrar and related databases are indispensable for identifying whether any surviving family members of the deceased children are still alive,” said AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick. “ISC’s continued obstruction directly jeopardizes these investigations and calls to question the integrity of federal commitments to reconciliation.”
The AMC calls on the Government of Canada to act faithfully and dutifully to fulfill its responsibilities regarding the goals of truth and reconciliation with First Nations Peoples in Manitoba. Grand Chief Merrick says the present lack of appropriate consultation and unilateral decision-making by governments makes achieving this goal increasingly impossible.
“The time for empty promises is over,” she said, “Families have waited long enough for answers, and the children who should never have been taken have been denied justice, even in death, due to bureaucratic obstacles. The families and Nations affected by these losses deserve nothing less than a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation.”
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs demand that the Government of Canada heed its calls to provide the necessary access to the Indian Registrar and other critical records without further delay. By doing so, the Government can demonstrate a genuine commitment to reconciliation and justice, ensuring that the truth about the fates of these children is finally brought to light and that their families and Nations receive the answers and closure they deserve.
For more information, please contact:
Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com
About the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
The AMC was formed in 1988 by the Chiefs in Manitoba to advocate on issues that commonly affect First Nations in Manitoba. AMC is an authorized representative of all 63 First Nations in Manitoba with a total of more than 172,000 First Nations citizens in the province, accounting for approximately 12 percent of the provincial population. AMC represents a diversity of Anishinaabe (Ojibway), Nehetho / Ininew (Cree), Anisininew (Ojibwe-Cree), Denesuline (Dene) and Dakota Oyate (Dakota) peoples.