Head of Truth and Reconciliation Commission to get award from university

WINNIPEG – The chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been announced as the recipient of this year’s Duff Roblin Award from the University of Winnipeg.

Justice Murray Sinclair took on heading the commission in 2009 and created the first comprehensive report on the Indian Residential School system in Canada.

After years of intense hearings from survivors along with academic research, his report resulted in 94 recommendations aimed at bridging the experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

The university says in a news release that Sinclair was Manitoba’s first aboriginal judge.

University president Annette Trimbee calls Sinclair “an inspiration to all Canadians who think deeply and care passionately about human rights.”

The Duff Roblin Award is presented to a Manitoban “with a profound dedication to education and community.” The ceremony will take place Nov. 17.

“I am very honoured to receive this recognition, but I share this honour with all those who had the courage and conviction to share their stories about the residential schools,” Sinclair said in the release.

“It is my great hope that the work I have been a part of will continue as we move forward toward a shared future that acknowledges the culture and the rights of all peoples in Canada.”