Minister Strahl delivers a speech on the Truth and Reconciliation National Event

As delivered

Thank you very much and I'd like to acknowledge, first of all, and thank the Anishanabec people of Treaty 1 Territory for welcoming us here on their traditional lands for this very important and historic gathering. I also want to pay my respects to the chiefs who are here, the elders, the children and most of all of course, to the survivors - the reason that this meeting's taking place. I want to thank you for attending today, and attending with an open mind and an open heart. I know it's difficult, but this is a truly historic opportunity.

We're here today at the first of seven national TRC events, which are geared to working toward new partnerships and a stronger, respectful relationship amongst all people. These are important gatherings; they're bringing people together in a spirit of reconciliation and engagement. It starts today and continues on for the next several years.

Events such as this one - public ones, private meetings - all of them are important in this ongoing journey toward healing and reconciliation and they're all steps that will help us to open a new era founded on renewed hope, faith, mutual respect and trust.

I'm honoured to have been travelling on this journey with you for nearly three years now as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. I spent time with a number of survivors since my appointment. In fact, my first meeting after I was appointed as Minister was here in this town, as I met with a group of survivors and I know many of those survivors are here with us here today to share with us.

Being here this morning again with so many survivors, I'm struck again and touched by the suffering that you have endured, what you and your families have experienced as a result of the residential school policies.

As a father and as a grandfather, I can't begin to imagine what it was like to have been separated from your loved ones, often for years and years. How can I understand that? But I want to understand. And we're here to hear about it and to learn about it from you; knowing that only survivors can really understand it and explain it. You know too well what the impact of these experiences have had on you, on your lives, on the lives of your families and on the lives of your communities.

The lasting effects of this legacy are a sobering reminder of why the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is so vital and important to Canada at this time, and what a heavy responsibility the three commissioners here will carry for the next four years. And I, I too would share, I know many of you are praying for them and let's do that for their health, for their strength and for their wisdom as they guide the Truth and Reconciliation Commission over the next several years.

The activities that will be shared this week are important opportunities to confront the past, to take an unflinching look at what has happened and then also to renew our commitment to closing this sad chapter in our history.

These acts of reconciliation are enabling us to work together in a spirit of renewed faith and partnership to build a strong foundation with a promising future, one of hope and opportunity for all. And I think we're all committed to achieving this goal.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which was reached in 2007 and supported by all parties to the agreement, has progressed thanks to close collaboration and cooperation.

The stories told at these national events and at the community events that will follow, the disclosure of all the documentation, both from the churches and from the government, and the work of the TRC will help all of us, will help the TRC to write and share the story with all Canadians, one that we must never forget and one that we can build on together.

And while the story of the residential school tells of an education policy gone so wrong, one that deprived too many Aboriginal children of their language and culture, exacted too high of a cost, we can't be deterred from our clear goal of improving educational outcomes for today's Aboriginal children.

And going forward, it's my intention to sit with all willing partners to reform and strengthen education and to support student success and provide greater hope and opportunity. We do this because we all know that education enables individuals to succeed, communities to flourish, economies to prosper. There's no single change we can all aspire to bring about that would make a bigger difference, than to close the intolerable gap in high school graduation rates.

In parallel with our broader work on education reform, my government and I would like to propose to Parliament that those sections of the Indian Act that allowed for the establishment of the Indian residential schools and the removal of children from their homes and communities be repealed. This will be done in close collaboration with First Nation organizations in the country.

I should mention that Pat Martin, NDP MP, is here with us today and I thank you Pat for witnessing this as well. We'll work together on repealing those sections of the Indian Act.

This gesture of closure and reconciliation will reinforce our government's unwavering commitment to establish a new relationship with Aboriginal people, a relationship, as Prime Minister Harper said in, in the Apology, to quote:

"Based on the knowledge of our shared history, respect for each other and a desire to move forward with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us."

As today's events make clear, our joint vision of reconciliation is coming to fruition, starting now and moving forward through many acts, small and large, across the country. I remain resolute in my determination to ensure that we continue on this journey together. I know we're all on different parts of that journey. I thank again the survivors for being willing to come out today and, in future days to tell us the truth about what happened so that we can all come to a better understanding of reconciliation together.

Thank you.