Full Access for Full Truth

With the revelations of the unmarked burials, new record accessibility relationships are being formed in Canada. This chapter looks at the issue of access to Indian Residential School records in Canada and how this issue has impeded the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as in locating unmarked burial sites and identifying missing children. It, therefore, looks at how the accessibility of records has been a reoccurring theme before, during, and after the TRC’s work regarding records necessary for the TRC to conduct its work but also TRC-generated records. The chapter argues that full disclosure of records and archives is necessary for reaching the whole truth and, ultimately, reconciliation. Challenging access to records reduces the reconciliatory spirit and forces survivors and their families to accept the status quo without being able to ask further questions.