New model for inquiries

You might expect someone who went through the kind of abuse Tony Smith experienced to want justice or revenge.

But when he began talking about the abuse he and others suffered in the care of the Home for Colored Children, he wasn't seized by the need to blame or punish someone.

Instead, he said last week, once they considered the pain, suffering and guilt they had all suffered, they decided that “we want to do no further harm to each other”, and work toward building relationships based on respect.

Sharing these memories was very painful and difficult, he said, so they wanted participants to be able to talk about their experience freely and have some hope that doing so could make a difference in the future.

An RCMP investigation into the abuse allegations led to no charges being laid, but in 2013, the province settled a class-action suit brought by former residents. In October 2014, Premier Stephen McNeil apologized to them for the abuse they suffered and for the legacies and harm done by systemic racism in Nova Scotia.

The inquiry was begun in 2014 with no intent to apportion blame or create a list of recommendations the province should follow. There was no judge presiding and no banks of lawyers questioning witnesses.

From the start, organizers wanted to create a “human-centred” process that would bring victims, agencies and individuals together in a process inspired by the concepts of restorative justice.

Five years later, on Thursday, the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry delivered its final report, a 555-page document that outlines the abuse suffered by residents of the home and how the province's care system failed them. It also describes a process the commission hopes will lead to lasting systemic change, so children in care will never face this kind of racism and abuse again.

It's a brave and ambitious goal, surely worth the attempt. As the council points out in its conclusion, the standard model of commissions of inquiry follows a familiar path that doesn't always led to real change.

“There is significant evidence that such reports and their recommendations often have less impact than intended or hoped,” the commission wrote.

This model might not work for other commissions seeking to investigate suspicious deaths, say, or government wrongdoing. But it does lay groundwork for continued work on issues like racism and abuse, because it contemplates ongoing consultation and depends on participants remaining engaged.

This is the basis for any healthy society – bringing people together to discuss a common problem, then deciding what to do about it. If that can be done without creating further harm, then something important has been achieved.

If it can then effect real, lasting change, well, that's what we should all hope for.