Almost 40K residential school records will be destroyed. Not all survivors think they should be
The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered the destruction of nearly 40,000 records of residential school survivor testimony by 2027, citing confidentiality promises. While some survivors support this, others fear the loss of historical truth and personal stories.
Why it matters
The decision balances the legal right to privacy for abuse survivors against the historical importance of documenting systemic trauma.
Geraldine Shingoose says she suffered a heart attack while testifying about the abuse she experienced at residential school.
The Saulteaux Elder attended the Muskowekwan Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan from 1962 to 1971. But it wasn't until many years later, testifying in the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) as part of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, that she first disclosed the extent of what had happened to her at the school.
"I'd never shared it before. And when I shared it, it was really hard on me," she said. "It impacted me physically."
Years later, Shingoose learned that testimony could disappear. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2017 that the more than 38,000 records of residential school testimony collected through the IAP will be destroyed in 2027, unless individual survivors request their own records be preserved.
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