Concordia University awards Loyola Medal to former TRC head Murray Sinclair

A former senator, judge and chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has been named Concordia University’s 23rd Loyola Medal recipient.

The Honourable Murray Sinclair was awarded the medal as he has met the standards set by the Loyola Alumni Association in 1963: “someone whose character, philosophy and contributions have enriched the heritage of Canada and humanity.”

“By honouring me in this way, Concordia has recognized that it can contribute to the conversation and call upon all Canadians to listen to Indigenous views on reconciliation,” said Sinclair in a statement.

“I appreciate the significance of the honour that I’ve been bestowed with. It marks an opportunity for this institution to acknowledge that it exists within a system that needs to change to move on the path to reconciliation. By honouring me in this way, Concordia has recognized that it can contribute to the conversation and call upon all Canadians to listen to Indigenous views on reconciliation.”

Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Graham Carr says Sinclair has been an advocate for Indigenous peoples in Canada and “not just for truth and justice but also for education and action.”

“His leadership as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission challenged all Canadians to learn, reflect upon and confront this country’s long history of oppression, violence and discrimination against Indigenous peoples,” said Carr.

“In every respect, Justice Sinclair is emblematic of what the Loyola Medal aims to honour.”

A virtual award ceremony will be held on Sept. 15, during Concordia’s homecoming celebrations.

Previous recipients of the Loyola award include Samantha Nutt, Clara Hughes and Oscar Peterson.

About Murray Sinclair

Sinclair was born in Selkirk, Man., in 1951.

He and his siblings were raised by their grandparents after his mother died from a stroke when he was an infant.

“I remember being a little boy sitting on the arm of the sofa, reading the newspaper to my grandfather, who could not read English,” said Sinclair. “As I read, he would ask me ‘Where is that place?’ and ‘Who is that person?’ and I would find out. It was a meaningful way that he and I interacted, but it was also a learning experience.”

In the late 1960s, Sinclair enrolled at the University of Manitoba’s physical education program.

In 1969 however, he dropped out of the program after his grandfather died in order to take care of his grandmother.

Not long after that he found work with a Friendship Centre in Selkirk, where he met many in need of social services and housing support.

“The government created a lot of programs to move Indigenous people into urban areas in the 1950s,” explained Sinclair. “This included financial, housing and social incentives, while starving people to death in their home communities, not allowing development and not allowing businesses to locate on reserves. This forced people to move to urban areas and Friendship Centres were created to deal with this large influx of Indigenous people.”

In ’73 he was offered a job by Howard Pawley – an NDP MLA who later became premier of Manitoba – and worked with him until ’76 when he was accepted into the Faculty of Law at the U of M.

He graduated from U of M in ’79 and focused on civil and criminal litigation, Indigenous law and human rights as his career began.

In ’88, he was appointed associate chief judge of the Manitoba Provincial Court, becoming the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba and second in Canada.

After being appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench, Sinclair was picked to lead the TRC, a role which he says he initially declined.

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“I hesitated because of the work I had done recently was very emotionally draining for me and I didn’t feel ready to do that work again,” he said.

He was later approached again after infighting in the commission.

“They (residential school survivors) saw the TRC disappear right before their eyes just as they were getting ready for it and I could see the anger, the frustration and the sense of being victimized again,” said Sinclair. “I knew that we couldn’t allow them to continue in their disappointment and that they needed to be able to tell Canadians what they had gone through.

“We had a council of survivors who helped guide us, but we also had elders and spiritual people who were well-versed in their traditions and cultures. We put in place processes that allowed us to work closely with the survivors who spoke to us.”

Over six years with the TRC, he travelled the country and met with 6,500 survivors and witnesses.

“We never lost sight of the pain and trauma that survivors were telling us about. It was quite emotional, but at the end of that time, we would all feel that we had done something good that day and that we were better for it. We never ended a day without doing that.”

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After retiring from the Senate in Jan. 2021, Sinclair went on to mentor young Indigenous lawyers.

He also became the chancellor of Queen’s University in that time and was named Companion of the Order of Canada.

Since unmarked graves have been discovered, Sinclair says the TRC has a lot of new challenges.

“The sense of injustice that comes from this is going to fester unless we can find a way to address and deal with it.

“That said, once we get past this one, there will be something else. There will be a series of hurdles that need to be addressed so that both sides are content before you can say that we have come to terms with the events of the past.

“Children raised in Canadian society from 1867 onward were indoctrinated into believing that Indigenous people were inferior — that they had no rights, that they were heathen, savages, warriors, uncivilized. It was taught to non-Indigenous children for seven generations and continues to be taught today.

“When Canada recognizes that, only then we will be able to say that we are on a significant part of the road to reconciliation.”