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	Resignation Paralyzes Residential Schools Panel By Joe Friesen Globe and Mail October 21, 2008 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081021.LAFORME21/TPStory/National Harry LaForme, chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, abruptly resigned yesterday, throwing the truth-gathering process into disarray and presenting a political obstacle for the Conservative government. Mr. Justice LaForme said he was unable to continue because an "incurable problem" doomed the commission to failure. In a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, he said his two fellow commissioners didn't agree with him on the commission's purpose and wouldn't defer to his authority. The commissioners, Jane Brewin Morley and Claudette Dumont-Smith, openly and repeatedly challenged his judgment and were determined to outvote him on every issue, Judge LaForme said. "The reason is that they and their supporters see the TRC as primarily a truth commission. Unlike mine, theirs is a view that leaves much of the work of reconciliation for another day." "They have compromised commission independence," the judge continued. "By their conduct, they have contributed to an atmosphere that has even adversely affected my health. But most fundamentally, in the end they have lost my confidence and, I feel, betrayed my trust. There is now no going back." Ted Yeomans, spokesman for Mr. Strahl, said the minister was disappointed to learn of Judge LaForme's resignation. He said Mr. Strahl will have to await direction from the courts before he can select a new chair, because the judge's appointment was part of a court-ordered settlement. "Unfortunately, a court-appointed mediator was not able to reconcile differences between the chair and the two commissioners," Mr. Yeomans said. "The courts will now review Justice LaForme's decision." The minister will have to consult on any new appointment with all the stakeholders in the residential-schools process, which could take weeks and further delay it. The commission is supposed to deliver a report on its historical findings and recommendations by June of 2010. Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said finding a replacement is urgent. "We can't afford to delay the process any longer," he said. "The average age of a residential schools survivor is 65. They're dying at a rate of four a day. "This process belongs to the survivors and they're entitled to have a functioning truth commission work for them to have a safe and culturally appropriate place for them to tell their stories and write the missing chapter in Canadian history." He added that the residential schools settlement agreement said nothing about a hierarchy of commissioners. Judge LaForme, the first native judge to sit on the Ontario Court of Appeal, did not speak publicly yesterday. "He's quite upset. It's quite an emotional thing for him," said spokesman Peter Rehak. The commission, the first of its kind in Canada, was set to begin gathering the stories of the country's 80,000 residential-schools survivors in the next few weeks. In an interview with The Globe and Mail 10 days ago, Judge LaForme acknowledged some conflicts with Ms. Brewin Morley, a lawyer, and Ms. Dumont-Smith, a health-care worker, but he was optimistic and gave no indication the problems couldn't be solved. Ms. Dumont-Smith said yesterday she was shocked and saddened by the judge's resignation. She said the commission had met fewer than six times since it was formed in June, the last time on Aug. 26 when Judge LaForme cancelled a future meeting. She thought she had a good working relationship with him, she said. She denied that she saw the commission's primary responsibility as truth-gathering, saying reconciliation is equally important. Ms. Brewin Morley was travelling yesterday and couldn't be reached for comment.
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