Justice Murray Sinclair, Manitoba's first aboriginal judge appointed in 1988, will take over as chairperson of the TRC. Sinclair was raised on St. Peter's reserve in the Selkirk area, north of Winnipeg and is known for his knowledge of aboriginal legal issues. He served as co commissioner for Manitoba's Aboriginal Justice Inquiry.

The three-person panel also includes Marie Wilson, a senior executive with the N.W.T. workers compensation commission and Wilton Littlechild, Assembly of First Nations vice-chief for Alberta.

More than 150,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend the government-funded schools, whose policy was to "kill the Indian in the child".

The commission has a five-year mandate to document the stories of residential school survivors, determine the truth and produce a report on its findings. It will host seven national events and establish a national research centre.