CANADA
Cowichan Valley Citizen

posted Oct 26, 2015

By Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press

TORONTO – The question of what to do with records of deeply personal, often heart-wrenching testimony from thousands of survivors of Indian residential schools who sought compensation for sexual and other abuse lands on the doorstep of Ontario’s top court Tuesday.

On one side of the two-day hearing are those who argue a lower court judge was right to order the material destroyed in due course. On the other are those who believe it should be kept in perpetuity under appropriate lock and key.

Justice Murray Sinclair, who headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said his concern is that the stories of what went on in the schools will be lost forever if the “rich trove” of documents is destroyed as ordered.

“In a few generations, that will allow people to be able to deny…