Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Aboriginal Rights

2012 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture Series.

We were very proud to present 2012 lecturer Mr. Bob Watts who led the process, with support from across Canada and internationally to establish Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is examining and will make recommendations regarding the Indian Residential School era and its legacy.

Bob Watts was Interim Executive Director of the Commission and was a member of the team which negotiated the historic Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. His current activities include working with Mediate BC to recommend ways for Aboriginal communities to respond to changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act and working on the Siting Process with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. He is an adjunct professor and fellow in the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University, and a frequent speaker on Aboriginal issues.

2012 Vancouver Human Rights

Bob is also a former CEO of the Assembly of First Nations, served as the Chief of Staff to the Assembly of First Nations ‘National Chief Phil Fontaine, and is a former Assistant Deputy Minister for the Government of Canada. He is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and fellow at the Harvard Law School. Bob is from Mohawk and Ojibway ancestry and is a member of the Six Nations Reserve.
Hosted by Paul Kennedy, the lecture was also recorded for future broadcast across the country on the CBC Radio One program “Ideas”.

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