City of Whitehorse to act on TRC recommendations

The City of Whitehorse will do what it can to act onrecommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report, the mayor says.

First Nations leaders and elders were invited to City Hall on Monday evening for a special meeting. Mayor Dan Curtis said it was to "acknowledge and recognize" the TRC report.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry that it's taken this long,"Curtis said, referring tothe generations of aboriginalpeople who have suffered the effectsof residential schools. He called the TRCfinal report "an amazing document."

The report was released in June, after years of hearings and testimony from thousands of former residential school students.

The report included dozens of recommendationsintended to repair the relationship between aboriginal people and the rest of Canada.They include the creation of a National Centre and Council for Truth and Reconciliation and the drafting of new and revised legislation for education, childwelfare and aboriginal languages.

The reportalsoasks for fundingfor memorials, community events and museums, a recommendation Curtis echoed as he called on provinces and territories to commit to a memorial.

The mayor alsoreiterated a call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Elder Barbara Fred says the City's focus on the TRC report on Monday was an important step forward.

"It felt great," Fred said. "It was like a relief that's finally been acknowledged."

Another elder, Judy Gingell,said it was a "veryemotional" evening.

"It's concrete," Gingell said."It's really something to see and especially with the City of Whitehorse, it's a start."

Gingell says First Nation governments also have a responsibility to look at the TRC report and do what they can.