The residential school system was established in Canada during the 19th century with the aim of assimilating Indigenous children into the dominant culture. It was a policy that resulted in unimaginable harm to Indigenous communities and continues to have a lasting impact on their lives today. With the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, there has been renewed focus on the need to address the legacy of this system and re-examine the government`s agreement with survivors.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in 2008 to investigate the residential school system and its impact on Indigenous communities. The commission heard from over 7,000 survivors of the system and published a report in 2015 with 94 calls to action for the government, churches, and Canadians as a whole. One of these calls to action was for the government to work with Indigenous peoples to review and “rethink” the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

The settlement agreement was reached after several years of negotiation between the government and survivors of the residential school system. It included an apology from the government, a compensation package for survivors, and the creation of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. While the agreement was an important step towards healing and reconciliation, it was not perfect, and some survivors feel that it did not go far enough in addressing the harm they experienced.

One of the main issues with the settlement agreement is that it limited compensation to survivors who spent at least one year in residential schools. This means that some survivors who spent only a few months in the system are not eligible for compensation, even though they may have experienced the same trauma and abuse as those who spent years in the schools. The TRC called for the government to “rethink” this part of the settlement agreement and ensure that all survivors receive compensation regardless of the length of time they spent in the system.

Another issue with the settlement agreement is that it did not address the ongoing impact of the residential school system on Indigenous communities. The TRC`s final report identified a number of ongoing issues, including the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system, the over-incarceration of Indigenous people, and the lack of access to basic services like clean water, housing, and healthcare in many Indigenous communities. The TRC called for the government to work with Indigenous peoples to develop a national strategy to address these ongoing issues and ensure that the legacy of the residential school system is fully addressed.

In light of the recent discovery in Kamloops, there is renewed urgency to address the legacy of the residential school system and fully implement the TRC`s calls to action. It is time for the government to work with Indigenous peoples to “rethink” the settlement agreement and ensure that all survivors receive compensation, regardless of the length of time they spent in the system. It is also time for the government to address the ongoing impacts of the system and work towards true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. We cannot change the past, but we can take action to ensure that the harm done is acknowledged and addressed, and that Indigenous peoples are able to build a better future for themselves and their communities.