'This is an important day': National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to get new permanent home
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation will soon have a new place to collect and archive the stories of residential school survivors in Canada.
The federal government is spending $60 million toward the cost of a permanent home for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.
"I think everyone is eager to see this building built and see progress be made. And most importantly for survivors that are looking for more answers and a better way to get them," Marc Miller, the federal Crown-Indigenous relations minister, said during a news conference in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Ottawa will also spend another $28.5 million over the next five years to support the centre's work – collecting residential school records and supporting community-led efforts to locate and identify unmarked graves.
"This is an important day because as we all know, the work of truth and reconciliation is far from over," said Stephanie Scott, the centre's executive director.
When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission went across Canada, teacher Laurie McDonald publicly shared his story of enduring life in a residential school.
"I gave permission for my story to be told wherever, for the purposes of education. Because there will come a day when we won't be around," McDonald told CTV News.
But he said his mother and sister did not. Instead, they hoped their stories of survival would be kept in one place, where they would be safe.
Murray Sinclair, the former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said this new permanent home is an important step on that journey.
"There are still a lot of deniers out there," he said. "And we have to understand those deniers will gain a foothold if we allow the memory to fade."
McDonald believes by housing their stories in a permanent home, the memories will never fade. It's hoped the work will be completed within the next five years.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.