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The truth and reconciliation commissions of Latin America and Africa are paradigms of transitional justice, often regarded as part of the process of transitioning from authoritarian to democratic rule. But truth commissions are also common in first-world settler states, which raises the question of what "transition" such commissions effectuate in Canada, Australia, and the United States. This paper examines the efforts of Canada' s Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples to resolve a controversy over a government relocation of Inuit families in the 1950s for which the relocatees were demanding compensation. Concurrent with historical controversies in the Canadian courts concerning Aboriginal rights and title, the historical controversy over the relocation raised questions about the Canadian state' s ability to "hear the voices" of First Nations people, who objected that their accounts of the past had been disregarded by government-contracted historians and courts alike. I argue that the Royal Commission' s efforts to hear the voices of Inuit relocatees, showcased in nationally televised hearings, was a phatic ritual in which communicative contact between marginalized citizens and the state was ritually established. The ritual was presented as a remedy for failures to achieve phatic communion among citizens and state--a condition of communicative contact held up as essential to the realization of liberal democratic ideals. The work of the Royal Commission and other truth commissions highlights the growing prominence of communication, particularly liberal communicative events construed as "open," "equal," and "free," as a concern of both theory and practice in liberal democratic polities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies the history of federal cultural policies and their relationship to the debates concerning the question of nationalism in French Canada and Québec from 1949 to 2011. Particular focus is given to the role and impact of the Commission royal d'enquête sur le développement national des arts et des sciences, or the art and science development royal investigative commission, known as the Commission Massey, launched by the Canadian government in 1949. The author looks at the role social conflicts played in the definition of nationalism and the evolution of public policies and argues that the debates about culture participated in an intellectual history which established to foundation of the Révolution tranquille, or Quiet Revolution, in Québec from 1960 to 1980.

The article discusses the role of the Québec Ministry of Tourism in establishing a unique cultural identity for the Canadian province of Québec. It describes the ways in which contested historical dates related to important events possess political and social power to create cultural identities, the role of municipal celebrations and parades in setting cultural markers and promoting specific Canadian national characteristics, and the role of political advertising campaigns in establishing political sovereignty. Other subjects under discussion include marketing slogans, ethnonationalism and its effect on the municipal tourism industry, and Canadian identity politics.

The article presents information on the book "Pierre Elliott Trudeau. L'intellectuel et le politique," by André Burelle. The book is based on the interpersonal relations between Quebec and Canada. It highlights political issues like the state of the Quebec government in 1980 and the repatriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982. The book is also devoted to the friendship and the intellectual cooperation between Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, political activist Gerard Pelletier and and author Andre Burelle.