Top court hears federal government’s appeal on residential school records
OTTAWA — Lawyers for the federal government and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation took turns Thursday trying to convince the Supreme Court how to handle the personal records of those who endured life inside Canada’s infamous residential schools.
The Liberal government is appealing a lower court decision that allows the records to be destroyed after 15 years unless the individual in question directs otherwise.
Justice Department lawyers say the documents are subject to federal laws governing access to information, privacy and the national archives, and should be preserved to ensure the residential school legacy is never forgotten.
They argue the court’s “inherent jurisdiction” to order the records be destroyed “fails to respect the intentions” of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, which settled a class action between survivors and the federal government — the largest such lawsuit in Canadian history.