"Following a conference held in March 2011 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on institutions of memory, the UBC First Nations House of Learning (FNHL) and the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) began discussions about an institution of memory addressing the experiences of survivors of the Indian residential schools on the west coast.

As it neared the completion of its mandate, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued a request for proposals to establish a National Research Centre to be a repository for its records. After much discussion, UBC supported the successful bid of the University of Manitoba to locate the national centre in Winnipeg, with the understanding that UBC would pursue the possibility of establishing a west coast affiliate Centre on its Vancouver campus. When the TRC conducted its final west coast National Event in September 2013, UBC suspended classes for a day and many students and faculty attended the event and, at the end of the day, heard UBC President Stephen Toope announce the university’s intention."