Statement on the report from the Independent Special Interlocutor

Yesterday, the Independent Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray released her report on an Indigenous-led reparations framework. The Independent Special Interlocutor was appointed by the government to make recommendations for a new federal legal framework to ensure the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of unmarked graves and burial sites of children at former residential schools and associated institutions. 

The Anglican Church of Canada shares in the painful legacy of the residential schools. It administered some thirty-six schools, over more than one hundred years, in partnership with the government.  We know there are sites at some Anglican residential institutions with unmarked graves or where burial records are incomplete, and our hearts ache for the children who did not return home and for their families. 

We are committed to walking the long road of repentance and reconciliation, listening to Indigenous elders, survivors and leaders for their guidance. That includes working to identify unmarked burials and missing children through further research in our archives.  

In addition to contributing $12.9 million as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, our work has included acknowledgement of the painful legacy through an apology for our role (in 1993) and an apology for spiritual harm caused (in 2019); participation and full co-operation with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in sharing archival materials related to residential schools; developing a Healing Fund (since 1992) to financially support local, community-led projects that assist in healing of language loss, cultural abuses and other forms of oppression; and supporting Indigenous leadership as they develop a self-governing Indigenous Church. Our commitment to the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission includes a commitment to the 94 Calls to Action through advocacy for their full implementation in our Church and in the whole of Canada. 

We intend to give our close attention to the Independent Special Interlocutor’s report. While we cannot change the choices and actions of the past, we can change the present by listening deeply to the truth about the past so that it will shed light to make a different future possible. 

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