Canadians are being called to “own your own truth” when it comes to the country’s history and treatment of Indigenous people on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day was made a federal statutory holiday earlier this year, as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended in its 94 calls to action. It will be held annually on Sept. 30.
It honours the children who died while being forced to attend residential school and the survivors, families and communities still affected by the system’s legacy.
Hundreds gathered at a ceremony held on Parliament Hill to mark the day — one of many held across the country.
Wakerakatste Louise McDonald Herne, a condoled Bear Clan Mother for the Mohawk Nation Council, called on Canadians to “know the history of this country and the corruption it was built upon.”
“You need to correct the wrongs and you have to own your own truth,” she said.
A memorial is displayed on Parliament Hill as ceremonies take place for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Ottawa Thursday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Algonquin Elder Claudette Commanda echoed Herne’s call, saying the discovery of unmarked graves near former residential schools sites has awakened the country to its history.
“Two-hundred and fifteen little voices woke the country, 215 voices spoke to the world,” Commanda said in reference to the 215 unmarked graves that were first discovered near a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C., this spring. That number was later revised down to 200, however hundreds more graves have been found since near other former school sites.
Commanda called on Canadians to open their hearts and listen to the truth in order to move forward with reconciliation.
“Take this beautiful gift we are offering you; learn, listen and we will walk together to turn this country into a beautiful country for all our children,” she said while fighting back tears.
A woman and her daughter sit behind a display of children’s shoes during the Ottawa ceremony. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
At a separate ceremony at the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation, near the Kamloops residential school where the initial discovery of 200 unmarked graves was made, Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said acknowledging the past is only a first step toward reconciliation.
“True reconciliation is about learning, sharing and growing as a country,” she said.
“The more we know about where we come from, and our shared history and our responsibilities, the better we can address current challenges and find our healing path forward together.”
WATCH | AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald on what true reconciliation means:
National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations says it’s time for healing and learning
12 hours ago
On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, RoseAnne Archibald says now is the time to learn about the history of residential schools. 1:49
In Winnipeg, the city was a sea of orange as thousands of people marched to the Manitoba Legislature. A sunrise ceremony also took place at The Forks, the national historic site where where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet and which has served as a gathering spot for 6,000 years.
In Winnipeg, hundreds attended a march from the Forks through the downtown area. (Gary Solilak/CBC)
Hundreds of people in Montreal attended a commemorative ceremony before taking part in a march. And in Quebec City, the provincial legislature, the National Assembly, was lit up in orange on Thursday evening.
Quebec Premier François Legault continued to resist calls, including from the opposition, to make the day a statutory holiday, saying it would be too “costly.”
“Listen, all provinces have a challenge to be competitive and productive. In Quebec, when we look at the number of days, the number of hours worked in a year, we have work to do. So, I think there are many other ways to mark, to commemorate what happened with the residential schools,” he said.
British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia are among the provinces that have followed the federal government’s lead and made the day a statutory holiday. Ontario and New Brunswick, like Quebec, have not.
Queen says she’s joining Canadians in reflection
Queen Elizabeth released a statement Thursday acknowledging “the work that remains to heal and to continue to build an inclusive society.”
“I join with all Canadians on this first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to reflect on the painful history that Indigenous peoples endured in residential schools in Canada,” the Queen’s statement said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also released a statement encouraging Canadians to reflect on the impacts and legacy of residential schools, specifically pointing to the hundreds of unmarked graves near former school sites that have been discovered this year.
“The tragic locating of unmarked graves at former residential school sites across the country has reminded us of not only the impacts of colonialism and the harsh realities of our collective past, but also the work that is paramount to advancing reconciliation in Canada,” the statement said.
People take part in a march Thursday in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)
On Thursday afternoon, Trudeau’s office confirmed he had travelled to Tofino, B.C. with his family.
A spokesperson for the prime minister told CBC News that Trudeau is “spending time in Tofino with family for a few days” but noted his participation in a ceremony the night before marking the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Prime Minister’s Office later told CBC News that Trudeau spent several hours Thursday on the phone speaking to residential school survivors “across the country.”
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole released a statement saying more work still needs to be done to address the “devastating and harmful effects” of the residential school system.
“In order for Canada to reach its full potential as a nation, reconciliation must be central to these efforts. This starts with public commemoration, education and conversations about the painful and lasting impacts of residential schools,” he said in his statement.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh took part in a truth and reconciliation march in Vancouver.
‘Uncomfortable truths’
Gov. Gen. Mary May Simon, the first Indigenous person to sit in that role, said today is an opportunity for Canadians to face “uncomfortable truths.”
“As we strive to acknowledge the horrors of the past, the suffering inflicted on Indigenous peoples, let us all stand side-by-side with grace and humility, and work together to build a better future for all,” she said in a statement.
Sept. 30 is also Orange Shirt Day, which remembers the story of Phyllis Webstad, a former residential school student who had her orange shirt taken away on her first day at residential school.
Across the country, people are encouraged to wear orange to spread awareness, support an Indigenous-run business or organization if they can, and take time to learn and reflect.
WATCH | Honouring survivors on eve of National Day for Truth of Reconciliation:
Ottawa marks 1st National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Residential school survivors and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau honour the lives and communities affected by the residential school system in a ceremony on Parliament Hill on the eve of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 1:11:02
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Schools in Mexico will have six months to implement a government-sponsored ban on junk food or else face heavy fines, officials said Monday.
The rules, published on Sept. 30, target products that have become staples for two or three generations of Mexican schoolkids: sugary fruit drinks sold in triangular cardboard cartons, chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, salty peanuts with chile. School administrators who violate the order will face fines equivalent to between $545 and $5,450, which could double for a second offense, amounting to nearly a year’s wages for some of them.
Mexico’s children have the highest consumption of junk food in Latin America and many get 40% of their total caloric intake from it, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund which labeled child obesity there an emergency.
The new ban targets products that have become staples for two or three generations of Mexican schoolkids: sugary fruit drinks sold in triangular cardboard cartons, chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, salty peanuts with chile.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday schools would have to offer water fountains and alternative snacks, like bean tacos.
“It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips,” Sheinbaum said. “It is much better to drink hibiscus flower water than soda.”
However, the vast majority of Mexico’s 255,000 schools nationwide do not have free drinking water available to students. According to a report in 2020, the effort to install drinking fountains succeeded in only about 10,900 of the country’s schools, or about 4% of them. Many Schools are located in areas so poor or remote that they struggle to maintain acceptable bathrooms, internet connection or electricity.
Also the most common recipes for beans, refried beans, usually contain a significant dose of lard, which would violate rules against saturated fats.
Mexico instituted front-of-package warning labels for foods between 2010 and 2020, to advise consumers about high levels of salt, added sugar, excess calories and saturated fats. Some snack foods carry all four of the black, octagonal warning labels.
But under the new rules, schools will have to phase out any product containing even a single warning label from school snack stands. It wasn’t immediately clear how the government would enforce the ban on the sidewalks outside schools, where vendors usually set up tables of goods to sell to kids at recess.
Mexican authorities say the country has the worst childhood obesity problem in the world, with about one-third of children overweight or obese.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
