Perpetration,impunity, and irreconciliation in Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools

The influence of institutional mandates on knowledge can be seen particularly clearly in the preferences and absences of truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) proceedings. A recent trend in TRCs involves a shift away from the exercise of judicial powers and the quest for justice and towards more concern with affirming the experience of victims or ‘Survivors’. Canada's TRC on Indian Residential Schools illustrates the consequences of the shift towards victim-centrism, which left gaps in knowledge – particularly about perpetrators – that was conveyed to the commission and produced conditions of impunity for those responsible for mass harm. This impunity coalesced into irreconciliation as the commission gave voice to people who had been forgotten, marginalized, and given little chance in life, while leaving out of the picture those who had actually stolen their lives and dignity.