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AbstractWhen we talk about truth and reconciliation commissions, we are accustomed to speaking of "transitional justice" mechanisms used in emerging democracies addressing histories of grave injustices. Public inquiries are usually the state response to past injustice in the Canadian context. The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is the result of a legal settlement agreement involving the government, representatives of indigenous peoples who attended residential schools for a period lasting more than a century, and the churches that operated those schools. Residential schools have been addressed in a series of public inquiries in Canada, culminating in the TRC. I argue that some of Canada's previous public inquiries, particularly with respect to indigenous issues, have strongly resembled truth commissions, yet this is the first time that an established democracy has called a body investigating past human-rights violations a "truth commission." This article considers some of the reasons for seeking a truth commission in an established democracy and looks to a previous public inquiry led by Thomas Berger, the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, for some useful strategies for the TRC as it pursues its mandate. In particular, I suggest that a commission can perform a social function by using its process to educate the broader public about the issue before it.

The Indian Residential Schools (IRS) system has been referred to as "Canada's greatest national shame". The IRS system is now the subject of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Unlike other truth commissions that have been created due to regime change, where a majority of citizens sought a truth-seeking process, Canada's TRC arose as a result of protracted litigation by survivors of the IRS system against the government and churches that ran the schools. This article reviews the genesis of TRC in a legal settlement agreement, along with some of the challenges this origin entails.

The Indian Residential Schools (IRS) system has been referred to as "Canada's greatest national shame". The IRS system is now the subject of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Unlike other truth commissions that have been created due to regime change, where a majority of citizens sought a truth-seeking process, Canada's TRC arose as a result of protracted litigation by survivors of the IRS system against the government and churches that ran the schools. This article reviews the genesis of TRC in a legal settlement agreement, along with some of the challenges this origin entails.

"Reconciling Truths explores the role and implications of commissions such as Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, particularly their limits and possibilities in an era of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Since before Confederation, colonial governments have used this legal mechanism to address deep societal challenges. Whether it is a public inquiry, truth commission, or royal commission, the chosen leadership and processes fundamentally affect its ability to achieve its mandate. Kim Stanton provides in-depth critical analysis of these factors to offer practical guidance on how an inquiry can do more than have its recommendations quietly gather dust on a shelf. She argues that even if recommendations are initially ignored, holding an inquiry can create a dialogue about issues of public importance that prepares the way for attitudinal change and policy development. As a forthright examination of the institutional design of public inquiries, Reconciling Truths acknowledges the risks inherent in their use. It also affirms their potential to shift the dominant Canadian narrative over time."--