Manitoba leaders remember Murray Sinclair as a 'quiet but powerful' champion of Indigenous rights

Murray Sinclair, a former senator, judge and the chief commissioner of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is being remembered by Manitoba leaders for his decades as a champion of Indigenous rights.

"It will be a long time before our nation produces another person the calibre of Murray Sinclair," Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said during Monday's question period at the legislature.

"Once a forest loses one of its giant cedars, it's important for the rest of the trees to ensure that the next generation can grow strong."

Sinclair died at a Winnipeg hospital early Monday morning, his family said in a statement. He was 73.

Sinclair, a member of Peguis First Nation, was born in 1951, just north of Selkirk on what used to be the St. Peter's reserve. His spirit name was Mazina Giizhik, which translates to "the one who speaks of pictures in the sky" in Anishinaabemowin.

Manitoba's first Indigenous judge, Sinclair led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and served as a senator.

Kinew recalled how Sinclair presided over his government's swearing-in ceremony just over a year ago, and passed on a message that Kinew called both remarkable yet simple.

"He said, 'You have to learn to love the people, even when they do not love you.

"He asked us to love one another, no matter what. This is the legacy that Murray Sinclair is leaving to us as Canadians."

Kinew got emotional at the legislature on Monday: Sinclair has "been there my entire life," the premier said.

A sacred fire has been lit outside the Manitoba legislative building for those wanting to pay respects to Sinclair in person.

Kinew told reporters following question period that Sinclair's funeral will be held later this week, but said he would not share further details about more public ceremonies out of respect for Sinclair's family.

It's difficult to "imagine a Canada without Justice Murray Sinclair," said Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee.

"It's hard to imagine that we will continue to live without him, but he's left a lot of things for us to hold onto, and I think that he has opened the door for many of us to continue to move forward to find truth and reconciliation," he said.