Seminaries & Residential Schools: Polar Opposites

A Reflection by Richard Thain, DDS, OC Board Member, October 29, 2024


                                         Seminary:                                                                                              Residential School:

 

                                         Elitist, you are superior                                                                        You are inferior


                                         Build you up                                                                                          You are worthless

 

                                         Strengthen your Catholic culture                                                       Destroy your Indigenous culture 

 

                                         Better than society                                                                              Second-class citizen

 

                                         Above the law                                                                                      You must obey 


 

He was abused by a priest. He’s still waiting for compensation

By Patricia Grell • April 21, 2026
CBC - April 16, 2026 Halifax, NS - Timothy Clark reported sexual abuse by a priest in 1984 but says the church ignored him.  Decades later, his claim was approved under a class-action settlement against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, yet he and more than 60 other accepted claimants have still not been paid. Delays are blamed on claim reviews, interviews, and late submissions, leaving many victims frustrated by poor communication and the lengthy process.

Journalist plans to create new archive of residential school survivor stories — before it's too late

By Patricia Grell • April 15, 2026
CBC - April 14, 2026 A new project from award-winning journalist Connie Walker aims to create an archive of testimonies of abuse at residential schools before the accounts are destroyed in September 2027. The project at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where she is the Velma Rogers Research Chair in the School of Journalism, aims to preserve residential school survivors' stories and raise awareness about the upcoming destruction of Independent Assessment Process (IAP) records. The files are being retained until 2027 to give survivors a chance to request a copy, opt-in to having the file preserved by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, or both.
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