Ontario set to release 1,800 Indigenous children death records

The Ontario government is set to release around 1,800 death records of Indigenous children to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).

The centre said they welcome the province’s commitment to cooperate and asked other provinces to do the same. 

Negotiations between the NCTR and the province regarding the transfer of residential school-related records began in 2015.

The centre said they are still waiting to receive coroner’s reports from all other provinces, but has received all death certificates from British Columbia and Alberta and some records from Yukon and Nova Scotia.

“These death records are essential to finding and identifying all the children who died due to the residential school system,” said the centre in a statement.  “Although some provinces are actively working to share important records, the NCTR requires full cooperation from all jurisdictions.”

The NCTR said some of the challenges they encounter while analyzing records include: record keeping processes vary by government; death certificates may not include information about whether a child attended  residential school; and the child’s Indigenous name is rarely found on the death record. 

The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission has identified 12 locations of unmarked burial sites in Ontario.