Truth and Reconciliation — Grant Higginson, Candidate for City Councillor, Ward 4

Where the City fits

Most of the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Crown rests with the federal and provincial governments. The City of St. Catharines still has specific responsibilities. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action include several directed at municipal governments. The City has also had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Niagara Regional Native Centre since 2018.

What I will do on council

Hand-drawn illustration of St. Catharines City Hall behind a municipal worktable with an open binder, checklist, archival box, and empty meeting chairs.

Ask for a public status report on the City's Memorandum of Understanding with the Niagara Regional Native Centre: what the action items are, which are complete, and which are still outstanding.
Ask for the same accounting on the Calls to Action directed at municipal governments, including:
- #43: adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation.
- #57: education for public servants on the history of Indigenous peoples and the legacy of residential schools.
- #77: municipal archives working with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to identify and share records relevant to residential schools.
Complete that education myself, as a member of council.
Take direction from Indigenous organizations on what the City's role should be, rather than deciding it for them.

Survivor records

Hand-drawn illustration of a quiet archive workspace with protected record envelopes, archival boxes, recording equipment, and St. Catharines City Hall outside the window.

Records of more than 38,000 residential school Survivors' testimonies, from the Independent Assessment Process, will be destroyed after September 19, 2027, unless Survivors choose to preserve them. Many Survivors don't know this option exists. The City's communication channels can help spread this notice at no cost, and I will ask that they do.

Survivors can request their own copy, send a copy to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, or both, through the My Records My Choice program: MyRecordsMyChoice@epiqglobal.ca.

Sources

Everything on this page comes from public documents. If you want to check any of it:

Last updated: September 29, 2026