Court to hear dispute over residential school documents in July

Thursday, June 19, 2014  

The official who handles residential school abuse claims says all records should be destroyed once the process is complete.

As part of the Independent Assessment Process, residential school survivors submitted testimony and documents about the physical, mental and sexual abuse they suffered. Chief adjudicator Dan Shapiro said their information should be kept confidential.

“These records, including the medical, educational, and financial records of survivors, should not be given a longer life and broader exposure simply because they relate to someone who was abused at a residential school,” Shapiro said in a press release.

Shapiro also spoke at a conference of privacy and access experts where he discussed the issue. He outlined the arguments the IAP will make to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice when it takes up the matter at a hearing from July 14-16 in Toronto.

The National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation will ask the court for permission to preserve the records. Director Ry Moran said the identities of Native survivors will be protected.

Get the Story:
Fate of documents detailing abuse at residential schools undecided (CBC 6/19)

Residential school survivors want testimony kept confidential (05/15)