From truth to reconciliation

Janvier’s sense of loss and a celebration of his resilience, made all the more powerful with the inclusion of a lengthy inscription painted in his own hand on the rear of the canvas. [...] It is also evidence of the capacity of democratic populations to tolerate moral enormities in their midst.2 The RCAP recommendation in 1996 for a public inquiry to examine the origins, purposes, and effects of residential school policies, to identify abuses, to recommend remedial measures, and to begin the process of healing3 has taken over a decade to come to realization. [...] While the current work of reconciliation will focus specifically on the context and impacts of residential schools, testimony invited before the Commission and exploration of the history, purpose, and consequences of the schools will inevitably extend into broad systemic issues.7 The advice of the Indian Residential School Survivor Committee and the experience of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, [...] He modestly omits to mention that in the course of his journey he became a journalist and manager of a media network serving a vast region of northwestern Ontario, a husband and father, a warrior of reconciliation, and a stalwart member of the Board of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. [...] The Conclusion by the editorial team, without attempting to summarize the wealth of experience and diversity of insights offered to illuminate the meanings of reconciliation and the possibilities of achieving it, considers the imperatives for action that emerge from the preceding articles.