Inuit Respond to New Truth & Reconciliation Commission * Pass Resolution at Annual General Meeting

Thursday June 11, 2009 - Nain, Nunatsiavut - National Inuit leader Mary Simon commented today following the announcement of the composition of the new Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“It was our wish and strong desire that an Inuk would have been one of the commissioners,” said ITK President Mary Simon. “It will be incumbent on the federal government and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to ensure that Inuit be an integral part of the Commission by the establishment of an Inuit Sub-Commission.”
 
It was announced yesterday that Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair is the Chairperson. The two new commissioners are Wilton Littlechild, and Marie Wilson.
 
At the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) Annual General Meeting in Nain, a resolution was passed to urge the new Commission to establish an Inuit Sub-Commission, “to ensure that Inuit survivors of the Residential Schools experience are fully consulted as part of the truth telling reconciliation process.”
 
The resolution acknowledges the fact that none of the commissioners are Inuit, that there are a significant number of Inuit survivors of the Residential School experience, that the Commission adequately address the needs of Inuit, and take note of the fact that Inuit of Nunatsiavut have been excluded from the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA).
 
“Inuit are free to participate or not, as they wish. However we do not support a public boycott of the commission, and instead will be working to ensure the commission meets the needs of Inuit survivors of this black period in Canadian history. We will also continue to work to ensure the Inuit of Nunatsiavut will receive their rightful compensation as part of the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement,” concluded Mary Simon.