Inmates at two Prince Albert jails are receiving a visit today and tomorrow from officials with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The TRC says between 18 and 20 inmates have indicated a willingness to talk to the statement gatherers about what happened to them during their time at Canada’s residential schools.
The commission’s Ry Moran says they want to give everyone who has been affected by the schools, regardless of their circumstances, a chance to tell their story:
“Certainly, what the commission does know — and what we’ve heard a lot from survivors — is that the impacts of the residential school system don’t stop when the person leaves the school. They do carry on through the generations.”
Moran adds some links have been detected between certain students who attended the schools and their legal problems later on in life:
“And that does create a number of challenges for people in their day-to-day lives. And I think that can lead to people interacting with police and ending up in trouble a little more than what would otherwise occur.”
The Correctional Service of Canada says it support the healing opportunity offered to the inmates.