These themes were at the heart of the Chancellor’s Lecture held at the University of Ottawa on Monday, April 20th, where the University’s chancellor Claudette Commanda joined acclaimed author and journalist Tanya Talaga for a powerful conversation on Indigenous history and reconciliation, as well as individual and collective responsibility.
Throughout the lecture, the speakers emphasized reconciliation as an ongoing process that demands learning, accountability and partnership. Through frank discussion and compelling examples, both speakers challenged the audience to reflect on Canada’s past and present, and to consider their own role in shaping a more just future.
The discussion was informed by decades of leadership and public engagement. Chancellor Claudette Commanda, Algonquin Anishinaabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg First Nation, is a long‑time advocate for Indigenous rights, reconciliation and education. She has taught across multiple uOttawa faculties, advised on reconciliation initiatives, and led national organizations dedicated to protecting First Nations languages and traditional knowledge.
Tanya Talaga, Anishinaabe and member of Fort William First Nation, is an award‑winning journalist, author and filmmaker whose work has brought national attention to Indigenous histories and contemporary inequities through investigative reporting and storytelling. Her most recent book, The Knowing, weaves personal and collective history to examine the lasting impacts of colonialism. Together, the speakers brought to the lecture a depth of knowledge shaped by sustained engagement and a shared commitment to truth‑telling.
Speaking truth to Canada’s Indigenous history
Deeply historical injustices continue to affect Indigenous communities today. Drawing on data and lived realities, Talaga illustrated the systemic barriers Indigenous peoples still face across the country. She noted that Canada often responds to stories with numbers – and those numbers reveal stark truths; disproportionate rates of Indigenous youth without a high school education; young people forced to leave their communities alone to pursue schooling hundreds of kilometres away; and entire reserves still lacking access to clean drinking water and adequate health care.
Talaga connected these realities to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), an independent commission established 15 years ago to document the impacts and lasting legacy of Canada’s residential school system. One of the TRC’s most significant outcomes was the creation of 94 Calls to Action, which are concrete recommendations to support reconciliation and repair the relationship between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous peoples. The chancellor described the TRC as “a gift from Indigenous peoples to Canada” and as a guide and a roadmap for mending that broken relationship. Yet, she reminded the audience, having a guide is not the same as following it.
In fact, while the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action offered a clear path forward, Talaga did not shy away from the realities of stalled progress. Of the 94 Calls, only 14 have been fully implemented, while 38 remain in progress, 16 untouched, and 26 stalled altogether, a record she described as mixed at best.
Education as a responsibility and opportunity
Education holds a central role in advancing reconciliation. The chancellor spoke passionately about the importance of truth‑telling and the responsibility institutions have in sharing it.
“It’s so important to learn the truth, take that truth, speak that truth, share that truth,” the chancellor said. “Let’s build a strong circle through education. And I’m exceptionally proud that as chancellor of the University of Ottawa, it will be our university that’s going to lead that truth.”
“I’m exceptionally proud that as chancellor of the University of Ottawa, it will be our university that’s going to lead that truth.”
Claudette Commanda
— Chancellor of the University of Ottawa
Talaga built on this idea by pointing to the space left behind when governments and large institutions fail to act decisively. When that gap remains unfilled, responsibility does not disappear – it shifts. Real and lasting reform, she suggested, often begins with individuals and communities choosing to rise to the occasion.
She cited educators who independently choose to introduce Indigenous languages and knowledge into their classrooms, and broader curriculum shifts that place Indigenous literature and perspectives at the centre rather than the margins. She also noted the role private partners can play in supporting these initiatives, which reinforces the idea that progress does not have to wait for top‑down direction to be effective.
She also emphasized that the TRC’s Calls to Action were never intended to rest solely on governments’ shoulders. Businesses, corporations, educational and cultural institutions, as well as everyday Canadians were all explicitly called on to act.
“We are waiting for many to step up,” said Talaga.
Calls for a united path forward
While the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action continue to guide reconciliation efforts across the country, the speakers stressed that reconciliation is not an all‑or‑nothing endeavour. Change can begin with a single action. “If you were to take even just one of those calls and figure out how you can apply it to your own life,” Talaga said, “think of what a better place we would be in in the future.”
“If you were to take even just one of those calls and figure out how you can apply it to your own life, think of what a better place we would be in in the future.”
Tanya Talaga
— Journalist, filmmaker and author of the book "The Knowing"
Talaga and chancellor Commanda ended with a call for unity grounded in respect, honesty and partnership. Honouring commitments, listening to Indigenous voices, and acting with intention are essential steps if Canada is to move forward together, united, strong and free.
In that spirit, chancellor Commanda reiterated her ongoing commitment to Indigenous education, research and community partnerships to make the University of Ottawa stand out as a reflection of those principles in action and to demonstrate how post-secondary institutions can help lead in moving reconciliation from words to meaningful progress.