Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has called the assimilation policy in Canada a “cultural genocide,” and there are many effects of the 1876 Indian Act and the Indian Residential School System, still felt by Indigenous people today.
In 2015, the TRC released it’s final report and 94 Calls to Action (CTAs) that are actionable policy recommendations meant to support the healing process of Indigenous people and address the ongoing impact of residential schools on survivors and their families. According to the CTAs, addressing the impacts will happen by acknowledging the full, disturbing, hidden history of the residential schools system, creating systems to prevent such actions from happening again, and by creating opportunities for Indigenous people so they can fully participate in society.
Particularly important for Canada’s corporate sector and its leadership is TRC Call to Action #92, which calls to “adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources.”
More specifically, Call to Action #92 emphasizes the need for:
- Meaningful consultation, respectful relationships and obtaining free, prior and informed consent;
- Ensuring there is equitable access to jobs, training and education opportunities in the corporate sector and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects; and
- Training for managers and staff on the history of Indigenous peoples and providing skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
In support of the ongoing efforts towards reconciliation, we’re sure that greater knowledge about the Indigenous experience in Canada today and throughout history will lead to positive transformations within our society.