I first heard about Murray Sinclair when he and I were both pretty young lawyers who both worked in the same judicial district of Manitoba. He worked out of Selkirk and I worked in Steinbach.  He became an associate for Howard Pawley a lawyer and cabinet minister in the Ed Schreyer government and later a premier of Manitoba. I had a modest rural practice.

Justice Sinclair was born about 2 years later than I. He was appointed a judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba, later of the Queen’s Bench in Manitoba. I vaguely remember that I was a bit jealous when he was appointed a judge. After all, I thought, he was younger than I was. How could that be?  Well, its simple. He earned it. He later became Associate Chief Justice of Manitoba and served on the Manitoba Justice Inquiry looking in to the unjust treatment of indigenous people by the provincial judicial system.

We only met once many years later after he had been appointed as Chair to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (‘TRC’) of Canada. I vaguely remember when that Commission was established, I thought people were making too much fuss about those schools. It was my ignorant evaluation that those schools were a matter of a few Catholic priests who were bad apples and who had horribly sexually abused children. What they had done to the children in their care was awful, if true, but no one else was to blame. I was wrong—dead wrong as it turned out.

A few years after the TRC was established and stories starting coming out that things were much more serious than we had realized. It was much more than  a few bad apples. Those schools were a result of systemic racial segregation, white supremacy and suppression of many indigenous children by the government of Manitoba and often by schools operated by various Christian churches.   Many children had been taken against their will from out of the love and care of their parents or guardians.

I remember the first time I heard Justice Sinclair speak on the history of residential schools, to a group of people who had been appointed to various government commissions and administrative bodies. Then I heard him a second time when he spoke to a group of Canadian lawyers at a meeting of the Canadian Bar Association. Those were  eye-opening experiences. I realized then that the issue of residential schools went deep into Canadian society and was a serious mark on that society. It was a stain on our honour.  After his talk I went up to thank him personally for opening my eyes.  Had he not opened my eyes I might have remained ignorant of the injustices created in the name of Canada against some of its most vulnerable citizens. We owe him and his fellow commissioners a great debt for the work they did on our behalf.

Justice Murray Sinclair was a giant of Canada who together with his fellow Commissioners brought to the attention of a nation the horrendous abuse, discrimination, and suppression of indigenous children in Canada. In doing that he did a great service to our country because he brought these injustices to the attention of the world and opened a path toward reconciliation. Otherwise, many white people like me would have remained ignorant of this great injustice. Justice Sinclair was a powerful voice for justice and the world should be grateful.  He was a true hero of Canada who made the world a better place. of Canada.

Lately I heard Justice Sinclair say there will always be those who deny history.  I agree. we see that all around.  After all, there are always those who prefer comfortable myths to the truth. For example, a few years ago the premier of Manitoba at the time, Brian Pallister, believed the myth that European settlers who came to Manitoba came solely to build and not destroy.  I wish it were that simple.

I remember what Justice Sinclair said: “this nation must never forget what it once did to its most vulnerable people.” Who has ever uttered a greater truth?  Justice Murray Sinclair was a great and clear voice for justice. He was a Canadian treasure. A Canadian hero if ever there was one.