The Law Society of B.C. has released the Second Meeting Notice for the 2024 Annual General Meeting, which is being held virtually on September 24, 2024. All practising lawyers in B.C. have the option to vote on the resolutions through advance voting prior to the AGM, or by attending the AGM.
Member Resolution 3 seeks to force an alteration to the portion of the Law Society’s Indigenous Intercultural Course addressing the work by the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc with respect to the discovery of unmarked graves at the Kamloops Residential School.
Read the full text of Resolution 3.
It is CBABC’s position that Resolution 3 is contrary to our mission and values and should be voted down at the Law Society’s AGM. As demonstrated in the whereas clauses, this is not a benign resolution on the merits of accuracy in professional development content. It is an attack on the principles of Truth and Reconciliation by denying the significant harms experienced by Indigenous people in Canada and undermines our profession’s commitment and actions to advancing Reconciliation.
We are mindful that dialogue about Indian Residential Schools can be re-traumatizing. If you or someone you know needs support, please contact the Indian Residential School Survivors Society Crisis Line at 1.866.925.4419.
We encourage CBABC members to consider the following arguments against the resolution.
Truth and Reconciliation Report
The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report contains four volumes of testimony and evidence regarding Indigenous people’s experiences at Indian Residential Schools and the ongoing intergenerational trauma resulting from the same.
Volume four of the Report, entitled “Missing Children and Unmarked Burials”, provides over 270 pages of information on the death of children at Indian Residential Schools and the painful and often haphazard burial of these children without the knowledge and consent of their parents and families.
Resolution 3’s focus on the language used in various news reports undermines the volumes of testimony contained in the TRC’s Report and perpetuates harmful Residential School denialism. Such action is contrary to good faith efforts in Truth and Reconciliation.
Residential School Denialism on the Rise
In 2023, Kimberly Murray, Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, issued an interim report titled “Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials”. This report details an “(increase) in the violence of denialism” and states that “a core group of Canadians continue to defend the Indian Residential Schools System … some still deny that children suffered physical, sexual, psychological, cultural, and spiritual abuses, despite the TRC’s indisputable evidence to the contrary. Others try to deny and minimize the destructive impacts of the Indian Residential Schools. They believe Canada’s historical myth that the nation has treated Indigenous Peoples with benevolence and generosity is true.”
In 2015, the CBA responded to the TRC’s Calls to Action and in 2022, CBABC adopted our most recent Reconciliation Action Plan. As a profession, we continue to move forward with Reconciliation, including cultural awareness education for our members. We encourage all lawyers to shut down efforts that deny what we’ve all learned to be true.
Perspectives of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation
Resolution 3 fails to accurately reflect the position of the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, the Nation whose land the Kamloops Indian Residential School occupied.
On May 18, 2024, a notice of office closure from the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc included the word “anomalies” and Resolution 3 asserts that this indicates a reversal of the Nation’s position on the Kamloops discovery.
However, Resolution 3 fails to include or refer to the May 27, 2024 statement from Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, which offers a more complete picture of the Nation’s journey of the initial discovery and ongoing investigation. We encourage members to read the full statement, but note the following:
“Our investigative findings (and investigative steps) are currently being kept confidential to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Our investigators’ findings to date are consistent with the presence of unmarked burials.”
“At the same time, we knew that there would be a backlash…. With all the misinformation and targeted denialism, allow me to remind you of key facts: Elders and survivors have always spoken of children dying and disappearing while at the school. Men speak of, as boys attending Kamloops Indian Residential School, being woken in the middle of the night, and asked to dig holes that seemed like graves, in the dark, and not being told why.”
“As an ally, to refute the very real harm caused by denialists, we encourage you to speak out and organize. Truth about the realities of Residential Schools and the Missing Children must be upheld.”
CBABC takes this exceptional step of commenting on Resolution 3 because we have made a commitment to advancing Reconciliation. We ask members to consider voting against Resolution 3 before or during the AGM on September 24, 2024.
Lee M.G. Nevens (they/them)
CBABC President, 2024-25
Christina J. Cook (she/her/kwe)
Aboriginal Lawyers Forum Chair, 2024-25