The First Nations Health Authority is saddened to learn of the passing of Murray Sinclair, a First Nations leader whose monumental efforts in bringing to light the reality of Canada's Indian residential schools has touched all of us. He was 73.

Murray Sinclair was most known for being the Anishinaabe judge who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but his lifetime of work in service to seeking justice for Indigenous people began nearly 40 years ago. Raised on the former St. Peter's Indian Reserve in Manitoba, Sinclair was the province's first Indigenous judge and only the second in Canada. In 1988, he was appointed co-commissioner of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry where he exposed systemic racism in the criminal justice system. 

In 2009, Sinclair began his six-year journey as chair of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which resulted in 94 calls to action to bring about a better relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples. He was also a Canadian senator, a companion of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Manitoba. 

The FNHA was privileged to receive a visit from Sinclair at Musqueam Nation in 2019, where he spoke about truth and reconciliation, as well as recovering from the losses of language, culture and identity taken by colonial practices. It is thanks to his efforts—and that of thousands of people who testified of their experiences in the residential school system—that Canada is finally beginning to address its colonial roots and acknowledge the damage it has done. 

I hope you will join me in a moment of silence to think about and remember the incredible achievements of Murray Sinclair and all he has meant to the progress of Indigenous peoples in Canada. 

In Wellness,

Richard Jock​