Canada

Files documenting the worst abuses at residential schools are set to be destroyed in 2027 and, despite a multi-year outreach, some survivors say they didn't know they could opt to have their files preserved.

Of the 38,000 people who filed claims with the IAP, 90 per cent had a hearing or settlement negotiation, according to the IAP website.

The process was made confidential so survivors would be comfortable sharing painful and personal details. It also meant that any people associated with the schools who were accused of abuse would not have those details made public.

The question of what to do with the files afterward arrived at the Supreme Court in 2017. The NCTR and the Canadian government opposed the destruction of the files, while many Catholic organizations, lawyers who acted for IAP claimants and the Assembly of First Nations supported destroying them.