Mandate: Established by the government to study the relationship between Aboriginal poeples, the Government of Canada and Canadian society as a whole, and to recommend improved policies towards indigenous communities.  Inquiry looked at the periods from before the 1500s to 1996.

Staff: 7 commissioners, 4 Aboriginal, 3 non-Aboriginal. The co-chairs were Georges Erasmus, former national chief of the Assembley of First Nations, and Justice René Dussault from the Quebec Appeal Court.

Operations: The Commission visited Aboriginal communities across Canada, conducting public hearings and hearing briefs from over 2000 people. Over 350 research studies were commissioned.

Final report issued in November 1996.

The Report emphasised the importance of understanding, mutual respect and equality. It recomended a new proclamation committing Canada to the creation of institutions and laws which would promote these and restore the balance of power. The report also recommended the redistribution of land and resources, improvements to the education system and an initiative to improve standards of housing, water supplies and sanitation, to ensure the improvement of the living and working conditions of the Aborginal people. Also recommended was funding for a ten-year training scheme to reduce the problem of unemployment.

The report also recognised the importance of increasing awareness of the Aboriginal people, their history and their way of life. This will require changes in the education system.

Finally, the report proposed the setting up of the Aboriginal Peoples Review Commission, an independent body to monitor and assess the Government's implementation of these proposals.