Justice Harry S. LaForme resigns as Chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission ...
Head of commission into Indian residential schools resigns
The Canadian Press
October 20, 2008
Toronto — The head of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called it quits.
The Canadian Press has learned Justice Harry LaForme resigned from the panel, which is tasked with documenting the experiences of residential school survivors.
Mr. LaForme, who was appointed chairman of the commission in April, is a justice with the Ontario Court of Appeal.
In a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, Mr. LaForme says the commission is on the verge of paralysis because the panel's two commissioners do not accept his authority and leadership.
Justice Harry LaForme, chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, waves after being recognized by the Speaker in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa April 28, 2008. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)
Over the summer, Mr. LaForme expressed concerns that political or bureaucratic interference could compromise the commission, and at the time he said those concerns were delaying the panel's startup.
For much of the last century, about 150,000 aboriginal students attended 130 church-run schools, where many were abused physically, sexually and emotionally.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2008/10/20/7147226-cp.html
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Justice Harry S. LaForme resigns as Chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission
TORONTO, Oct. 20 /CNW/ - Justice Harry S. LaForme today resigned as
Commission Chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, citing an "incurable problem" that has led him to conclude that
the Commission "as currently constituted" will fail.
"At the heart of it is an incurable problem. The two Commissioners are
unprepared to accept that the structure of the Commission requires that the
TRC's course is to be charted and its objectives are to be shaped ultimately
through the authority and leadership of its Chair," he said in a letter to
Chuck Strahl, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
The other two commissioners are Jane Brewin-Morley and Claudette
Dumont-Smith. They have "repeatedly and openly" rejected the proposition that the Chair was to shape the Commission's course, Justice LaForme said in the
letter. He was chosen as Chair on April 28, 2008. He is a judge of the Ontario
Court of Appeal.
"Challenging the reality that they were appointed as providers of advice
and assistance to the Chair, the two have chosen to compete for control of the
Commission by insisting that it is to be run on the basis of simple majority
rule...Efforts on my part and on the part of others to move the Commission
away from their position toward one that would restore functionality and
respect have been futile."
This, he said, has put the Commission "on the verge of paralysis."
Justice LaForme said the other two Commissioners do not embrace his
interpretation of the mandate that emphasizes reconciliation. They and their
supporters "see the TRC as primarily a truth commission. Unlike mine, theirs
is a view that leaves much of the work of reconciliation for another day. It
is a view that does not recognize the need for uncovering and recording the
truths of the IRS (Indian Residential Schools) past and legacy as but a part,
however important, of the greater whole of reconciliation."
"This difference in views would not be insurmountable if ours were merely
a case of competing visions open to debate and beneficial solutions. But they
are not. The two Commissioners insist that the direction of the Commission is
to be determined through a majority vote - thereby ensuring that their
restricted vision will be the one consistently sustained. Apart from the
essential fact that this not what was contemplated in their appointment,
majority votes at the TRC are unworkable for another, practical, reason. The current unique situation of the TRC is that the two Commissioners have made it clear that their majority rule would not be grounded in Commission independence but would be shaped by the influence by some of the parties and
their political representatives."
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created as the result of a
court-approved agreement to settle legal claims that residential school
survivors and others brought against the Government of Canada and Church
entities. The Commission reports to the parties of the settlement agreement
through the courts.
The Commission's mandate is to document the residential school experience
through national and regional events with the aim of healing and forging a new
relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians.
<< ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please Note: Justice LaForme will not be giving media interviews at this time. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/20/c7708.html
Judge at head of residential school investigation resigns
Monday, October 20, 2008
The head of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission has resigned.
Justice Harry LaForme resigned from the panel, which is tasked with documenting the experiences of residential school survivors, the Canadian Press has learned.
In a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, LaForme says the commission is on the verge of paralysis because the panel's two commissioners do not accept his authority and leadership.
LaForme, who was appointed chairman of the commission in April, is a justice with the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Over the summer, LaForme expressed concerns that political or bureaucratic interference could compromise the commission, and at the time he said those concerns were delaying the panel's startup.
Over the past century, about 150,000 aboriginal students attended 130 church-run schools, where many were abused physically, sexually and emotionally.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/10/20/truth-resignation.html
Feds to consult courts on commissioner's resignationThe federal government is looking to the courts for advice on what to do about the sudden resignation this week of Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair Justice Harry LaForme. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement did not include any provisions for what to do if the chair or any of the commissioners resigned. “Given the resignation of Justice LaForme and the issues he raised in his letter, it has become necessary to consult with the courts on how best to move forward,” said Valladao. LaForme -- considered the most senior aboriginal judge in Canada -- resigned Monday saying there were “incurable problems” between himself and the two other commissioners appointed to the team. The impasse appears to be a power struggle, though LaForme also accused the two commissioners of political interference. A government-appointed mediator could not solve the impasse and LaForme stepped aside Monday, just six months after he was named to the job amid great fanfare. The $60-million commission is intended to put the legacy of residential schools into a permanent historical record. It was established as part of the residential schools settlement reached between the government and aboriginal groups, that also included financial compensation for survivors. Phil Fontaine, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Tuesday that the federal government must consult with the AFN on the process to replace LaForme. Valladao said the government will consult with all the parties to the settlement agreement before making a decision on LaForme’s replacement. She said there was no deadline for when those consultations would take place or when a new chair would be appointed http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4240617p-4883691c.html
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