VANCOUVER, BC - Canada's Big City Mayors' Caucus recognizes the significance of the undertaking of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the release of the TRC's final report and its recommendations. It took many decades of advocacy by residential school survivors to establish the Commission, and the several years of gathering testimony, evidence and developing recommendations have been a difficult and exhausting process for survivors and Commissioners alike.
We recognize the deep and lasting traumatic impact that Canada's Indian Residential Schools had on individuals, their families, and communities both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. The history of these schools is one of pain and gross injustice that requires us all to make ongoing and concerted efforts to learn the truth about residential schools, acknowledge this history and its modern legacies in our cities and begin a shared journey of reconciliation.
Many Aboriginal people now living in Canada's largest cities continue to grapple with the most severe consequences of the intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools - but we are committed to supporting and delivering real change, working together with Aboriginal leaders.
Today we declare that Canada's big city mayors commit themselves to learning from the lessons of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and taking action to ensure the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal people are fully acknowledged in policy, and in the great cities we seek to build.
We stand together today in committing to a new equal partnership with Aboriginal people in Canada; one based on truth, dignity, and mutual respect.
