Hiring is underway for the staff that will be involved in the restorative inquiry into abuse at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children.

Five positions are currently being advertised with a goal of starting the inquiry in October. A total of nine staff will be hired.

“I think the goal is to have the staff and council, there will be some training required for those roles, so the hope is to have all of that done by sort of mid-end October, and then we’ll be in position to start the inquiry shortly after that,” says Chad Lucas, communications lead for the restorative inquiry.

Tony Smith, a former resident and one of two co-chairs on the Council of Parties, says he is pleased with the progress being made.

“I’m feeling very excited. It’s been a long haul but at least we’re taking our time making sure we do it right,” says Smith.

“I think this is the first time in the history of Nova Scotia with the black community that we’ll have an opportunity to really build a relationship with this institution because we never ever had a true relationship.”

There has also been a call for community members to serve on the Council of Parties, the body that will oversee the inquiry.

“Folks have been talking in the community, people have been asking questions, you know, ‘what is this about? What does this involve?’ So I think there’s certainly interest in the community and we’re hopeful we’ll see lots of applications in the next few days,” says Lucas.

The restorative inquiry was introduced in June. It is similar to a public inquiry in terms of power and authority, but it doesn’t lay blame. The goal is to learn from what happened, understand why it happened, and take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Lucas says the process will be community-focused, so people can share their stories.

“So, throughout the process there will be opportunities to share what’s being learned in a really practical way,” he says. “We hope that will make a real difference to communities across Nova Scotia.”

“We know the underlying issue of systemic racism in our province, but how these institutions had failed us, what are some of the learning curves that we can take away from these institutions to really build a relationship?” says Smith.

The positions currently being advertised close Thursday.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster