The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) has been monitoring the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples’ public hearings related to the withholding and lack of access to records for children who attended residential school very closely and with great attention.

Expert witnesses stated that they have been able to identify more children who died in residential schools, but whose names are not currently included in the National Student Memorial Register.

Making the full range of relevant records accessible for research is a critical part of our journey towards truth and reconciliation. Without full access to records, the Memorial Register will remain incomplete. For families, this means being denied the truth of what happened to their loved ones and the opportunity to honour these precious lives. 

The NCTR has more than four million records in its care, and we are in the process of a massive undertaking to accept over 23 million more records from various entities that will assist in research efforts aimed at identifying and locating missing children. We’ve also been entering into agreements with provincial and territorial governments to arrange joint access to records and materials.

As part of our ongoing crucial work, the NCTR will continue to add names to the Register based on Survivor statements, historical documents in our care, and any new information from Survivors’ family members and other researchers. Please contact the NCTR if you would like to add, remove, or change a child’s name in the memorial register.