Truth Commission Conference

On May 8, the TJ Centre hosted a scholarly conference, “Evaluating the Impact of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.”  Delegates from across the country considered the Commission’s impact across a number of different aspects of the Canadian landscape. These include the collective understanding of the legacy of colonialism; the role of the churches; the evolution of the term "reconciliation" in legal matters; and other important elements.

Featured speakers included:
Carole Blackburn, Anthropology, UBC
Michael Coyle, Law, Western
Jonathan Dewar, Algoma
Julia Emberley, English, Western
Matt James, Political Science, Victoria
Jennifer Llewellyn, Law, Dalhousie
Brian Rice, Education, Winnipeg
Douglas Sanderson, Law, Toronto
John Siebert, Project Ploughshares
Kim Stanton, Stanton Legal, Toronto
Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Lakehead

Paper presentations by three of the students from the Collaborative Graduate Program in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction were also featured.  The students included Tamara Hinan (Political Science), Tammy Lambert (Political Science), and Shirley Wales (Law).

The conference was kicked off by a screening of the documentary film, We Were Children, at the Wolf Performance Hall at the London Public Library on May 7.