Remarks by the Honourable David C. Onley, OOnt,
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Witnessing Ceremony:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
“2011 Circle of witnesses for the revitalizing reconciliation in
Ontario: A cross-cultural dialogue”
Lieutenant Governor‟s Suite
28 September 2011
Justice Sinclair and Commissioner Wilson, both from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
of Canada, Grand Chiefs, Chiefs, Guest Panellists, Elders, members of Ontario's academic,
business, faith, policing, social and cultural communities, welcome, and thank you for joining us
today.
As the Queen‟s representative in Ontario, it is a distinct pleasure to welcome you all here today.
I would like to begin by thanking Chief Brian LaForme and honouring the Mississaugas of the
New Credit First Nation who are the traditional caretakers of the land where this meeting is
taking place.
It is indeed a privilege to work with you on this important, if not historic initiative.
Last February I was a keynote speaker at Reconciliation in Ontario Symposium hosted by the
University of Toronto.
At the three-day meeting, interested parties from across Ontario gathered to reflect, to share ideas
and affirm one another‟s perspectives.
As a result, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and my office collaborated to design and
implement today‟s unique time of sharing.
Through today‟s witnessing ceremony we will begin the process of developing how
reconciliation can occur in this great province.
The task may seem daunting. It is. Make no mistake, it is daunting.
But equally, make no mistake; we are perfectly capable of achieving reconciliation.
As President Lincoln said in circumstances far more dire yet deeply challenging in terms of pain
and the need for reconciling justice:
“We can succeed only by concert. It is not “can any of us imagine better?” but, “can we all do
better?” The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled
high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think
anew and act anew.”
Today we will draw upon our past, we will hear and we will learn.
There will I hope be some laughter. There may well be tears.
Both are welcome.
Both are from the heart.
And the beginning of all reconciliation comes from the heart, inspired by the Great Spirit who
moves through our heart to our minds.
And while we have sought His guidance, the obligation to act is entirely ours.
Make that your vow today.
It is mine.
I know Justice Sinclair will address the residential school legacy in his remarks. I would like to
reflect for a few moments on reconciliation, in and of itself.
I believe reconciliation is an ongoing, fluid, sometimes painstaking process. It is not a one-shot
proposition that can be addressed by attendance at a conference, launching a major initiative like
a five-year Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the settling of a few treaties, or some First
Nations youth in a few communities learning their languages. It is all of these and so much more.
The process of reconciliation is complex and multi-faceted.
It is a compilation of numerous efforts, some of which are programs with a title, a plan and a
method of external implementation.
Other work will involve the coming together of people in diverse communities in Ontario who
will seek to build bridges with each other based on truth and understanding.
There are many definitions of reconciliation in the world.
Boards of inquiry, inquisitions, as well as Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and other such
entities tend to follow tumultuous periods in history.
They are established as noble attempts to address inequities in legal, financial, judicial,
constitutional or other social justice streams of society.
South Africa comes to mind.
Reconciliation is a beautiful word in itself and connotes images of aspiration, expectation and
hope for a positive outcome.
Reconciliation involves the old and the new. It is all about creating something new with full
recognition of the past.
It involves doing the right thing in thoughts, words and actions.
It needs two sides to acknowledge something untoward happened. Both parties need to address
the situation truthfully, understand its profound impact, learn lessons and rebuild.
There are two key reasons why I think it is essential for Ontario‟s Vice-Regal Office to be
hosting this event.
The first is based in history and the second is more immediate and deals with the NOW.
Above all else, the Lieutenant Governor is Her Majesty The Queen‟s representative in Ontario,
just as the Governor General is for Canada.
No government, no bureaucracy fills this constitutional role.
As such, there has always been a unique relationship between the Crown and Canada‟s First
Nation‟s people.
It is a special relationship that transcends elected governments and bureaucracies.
This historic relationship dates back to our Colonial beginnings, and the treaties themselves date
back to the early 18th century.
Both statutory and traditional, the treaties are seen by the first peoples both as legal contracts and
as perpetual and personal promises by successive reigning kings and queens to protect
Aboriginal welfare, define their rights, and reconcile their sovereignty with that of the monarch
in Canada.
The agreements are formed with the Crown because the monarchy represents a political stability
and continuity, as opposed to the shifting political moods inherent in the democratic process.
This historic continuity means the link between the monarch, and through the Monarch to her
Personal Vice Regal Representatives intentionally lasts for “as long as the sun shines, the grass
grows and the rivers flow.”
This means there is an historic, legal and ethical obligation between the Vice Regal office and
Ontario‟s Aboriginal People‟s.
But there are other more immediate and compelling reasons for this witnessing event to be taking
place here in the Lieutenant Governor‟s Suite.
For the past eight years, Ontario‟s fly-in communities have been the primary focus of Aboriginal
work undertaken by Ontario‟s Vice-Regal Office, begun by my predecessor, the Honourable
James K. Bartleman, Ontario‟s first Aboriginal Lieutenant Governor.
And it has continued because a non-Native Lieutenant Governor like me promised to sustain
these programs.
When I was appointed Lieutenant Governor in 2007, I adopted accessibility as the over-arching
theme of my mandate.
I define accessibility as that which enables people to achieve their full potential.
I also broke with tradition and continued Mr. Bartleman‟s literacy initiatives as well as adding a
computer literacy component.
I did this because my definition of accessibility includes access to education, the „sine qua non‟
for all students to achieve their full potential.
For some with disabilities, it implies special needs being met. For aboriginal kids, it means
ensuring they have the same 21st Century computer resources kids have in the rest of Ontario.
With the fastest growing population in Canada being Aboriginal, 50% between 1996 and 2006,
educational needs, growth and development of Aboriginal youth is paramount.
2010 marked the fifth anniversary of the Lieutenant Governor‟s Aboriginal Literacy Programs
and it was last year that I officially launched a new five year phase of the program.
The tremendous response to the Aboriginal Literacy Programs by individuals, non-profit
organizations and various agencies or corporations demonstrates that we can make an enormous
difference on top of the efforts, programs and policies of government.
In 2008 and 2009 I held two province-wide book drives. We collected 50,000 brand new books
to augment the gently used books that had been gathered in the past to establish school and
community libraries.
I also grew he Lieutenant Governor‟s Aboriginal Summer Reading Camps. Over the past five
years, some 39 camps have annually been attended by about 2,300 youth in 29 First Nation
communities where about 11,000 books were read, averaging about five books per child.
The fifth anniversary of the summer camps program was marked in 2010 and I have been
working with Grand Chief Stan Beardy to meet individually with each of the 25 program funders.
The sponsors include universities, colleges, power organizations, teachers‟ federations,
corporations like DeBeers and many others. I am proud to say that a number of representatives
from these organizations have made time to be here today.
We have already received a commitment from just under half of the sponsors to continue funding
the program for another five years.
Later this fall, the Grand Chief and I will meet with the remaining funders in an attempt to secure
similar assurances through 2015. It is all very promising!
The third Aboriginal literacy initiative I have continued is the Lieutenant Governor‟s Club
Amick Program, a book club for children in the fly-in communities.
Each club member receives a children‟s book and an activities oriented newsletter four times per
year. Nearly 5,000 kids are members of Club Amick from kindergarten to Grade 6.
Through the popular newsletter, the children enter contests; send in postcards with colourful
pictures about the places they read about and create comic strips and poetry.
In 2010, I established the Lieutenant Governor‟s Aboriginal Youth Computer Literacy Program
as a pilot program in Kingfisher Lake and Poplar Lake First Nations. Twenty laptop computers
have been placed in the schools in each community and are used in class by the students.
In March this year, we brought the CTS Television System to Kingfisher and Poplar Lake to
witness firsthand the impact of the laptops in the schools.
It resulted in a ten-minute segment with Grand Chief Stan Beardy and my wife Ruth Ann. The
coverage received on this national network meant viewers across the country and beyond learned
about the computer initiative and heard more about the two communities.
Even so, rapid tech advances are changing our focus from computers to E-books.
The E-Book phenomenon is a game changer. As our beloved sage Rex Murphy has said,
“Everyone can now be their own library”.
We are presently approaching school principals in the fly-in communities about using and testing
30 donated e-books in schools, their success will mean we will seek many, many more e-books
for the students in the fly-in communities.
The previous LG book drives meant that school libraries were established where none existed or
significantly enhanced in the few that were there.
But E-Books mean that tens of thousands of electronic books are stored in a single hand-held
device. They are also cost effective. The 6,000 students of the fly-in communities could each
have their own E-Book storing 32,000 books for less than $1,000.000. It is the way of the future
and we want to make it happen now.
Both Ruth Ann and I have also made a number of visits to NAN or the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation.
One trip I would like to draw your attention to was a special „comfort‟ visit to Ea-ba-me-toong
First Nation.
Ruth Ann together with Her Excellency Mrs. Sharon Johnston, wife of the Governor General of
Canada, visited this community with and at the request of Grand Chief Stan Beardy.
The CBC‟s The National, CTV National News and other media who provided national coverage
of the trip and the dire conditions in this community.
During the August 2010 civic holiday weekend Ruth Ann and I attended the Beaver Lake Family
Empowerment Conference focusing on Aboriginal suicide.
Ruth Ann sang some gospel hymns and I addressed the gathering during church services on the
Sunday. It was a very meaningful weekend for both of us.
Earlier this year, we completed the transformation of a room in the Lieutenant Governor‟s Suite
that has been renamed “The Northern Room”.
It is on the main floor and it is filled with art from Nishnawbe Aski Nation artists like Roy
Thomas, Goyce and Josh Kakegamic, Carl Ray and others. I am proud to feature their work as
we receive thousands of visitors annually.
As you can see, Acts of reconciliation and solidarity can take many forms.
Hopefully, the programs I have initiated, the fly-in First
Nations visits we have and will continue to make, convey a clear message that Ontario‟s viceregal office welcomes dialogue and acts in partnership with First Nations.
Indeed, Ontario‟s Lieutenant Governor‟s Office enjoys a sound history of nurturing relationships
with its First Nations. I see our partnership with The Truth and Reconciliation Commission to be
a significant extension of this same philosophy.
A meaningful way to build bridges of understanding is to actively join together, as recommended
by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, “to witness, support, promote and facilitate truth
and reconciliation events at both the national and community levels.”
We can inspire Aboriginal and non-Aboriginals alike to take action together to create more
respectful relations and make real change in Canadian society – to lead us all towards a just and
meaningful reconciliation.
This will require the collective efforts of individuals from all walks of life, and the commitment
of multiple generations.
It is a situation that has remained unresolved for multiple generations, but it is a reality that can
be resolved by this generation.
We are all victims of our past. In this we have no choice. Our history is written. It cannot be
changed.
But we must not be prisoners of our past, and in this we do have a choice.
Today we begin the change.
Today we begin to shape and build “the key of reconciliation”, the key that will open the lock to
a future we will write in this generation.
Today we will make a positive change in our respective fields of influence and communities.
We will build momentum for a broadly based provincial reconciliation movement – and in the
process, work together to inspire and foster hope for all Ontarians.
Manitoba residential school survivor Edward Gamblin has written a compelling healing song
entitled „The Survivor‟s Voice‟. Among the touching lyrics he has penned, are these words:
“Could never understand why you can‟t look at me,
The fire I walked through wasn‟t my choice.
Why just me, Canada heal with me; If you open your heart, You can hear a survivor‟s voice.”
We have much to learn from one another.
We have much to learn from the Edward Gamblins of our world.
We have much to learn from the panellists we will soon be hearing from.
In the name of the Queen, thank you for your goodwill in coming here today, for participating in
this dialogue and for embracing this unique circle of Honorary Witnesses, surrounded by old and
new friends.