TORONTO —
Thursday marks Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as communities across the country honour Indigenous survivors and children who disappeared from the residential school system.
The new statutory holiday, which the federal government announced in June, asks the country to reflect on Canada’s history of mistreatment of Indigenous people and the lasting intergenerational trauma of the church-run institutions where children were torn from their families and abused.
Creating a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was one of the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) back in 2015.
The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996, with more than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children forced to attend the facilities between the 1870s and 1996, according to the TRC.
The facilities were designed to strip Indigenous people of their culture and language, and replace them with a Christian faith and the English language. There were 139 residential schools in the federally funded program, many of which were run by the Catholic Church.
The TRC’s final report estimates that 6,000 children died while attending the schools, although many say the number could be as high as 15,000.
Despite the marking of Sept. 30 as a federal holiday, several provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, have chosen not to recognize it, meaning that schools and provincial offices in these provinces will remain open.
Singing and drumming is set to ring out at 2:15 p.m. PDT from Kamloops, B.C., where the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced in May that ground-penetrating radar had detected at least 215 unmarked graves at the site of one of Canada’s largest former residential schools.
At Cowessess First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, where 751 unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Residential School were discovered in June, leaders will hold a community feast and powwow on the grounds of the facility to mark the holiday.
Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme said the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an important step for Canadians to better understand the pain and trauma many Indigenous people went through at these facilities.
“Recognizing this day is an investment in us and our children and our children yet unborn, so that the truth will prevail that we will all really be in the reconciliation stage with days like this,” he said.
Delorme told CTV News that work to identify those children buried on the site continues, but they have already been able to identify about 300 of them and markers will be made in the near future.
Numerous other Indigenous communities have since reported finding unmarked graves at former residential school sites with the same technology used in Kamloops and Cowessess, prompting calls for justice that have resonated beyond Canada’s border.
The statutory holiday coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which was started in 2013 as a way to honour Indigenous children and educate Canadians about the impact the residential school system had on Indigenous communities. It was inspired by the experiences of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, who had her new orange shirt taken away by residential school staff on her first day of school.
Crowds in orange shirts gathered on Parliament Hill Thursday morning to hear from elders and Indigenous leaders on the horrors of residential schools, and to honour the lost children and survivors. Similar events are being held across the country and online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Reginald Niganobe of Anishinabek Nation in Ontario told CTV News Channel that the holiday is a step in the “right direction” in acknowledging to learn and make efforts to “undo the colonial systems and legacy of residential schools and the Indian Act.”
“Both these institutions go hand-in-hand and continue this date, which are the cause of inequalities that are knowingly imposed on Indigenous First Nations people,” Niganobe said Thursday.
The Indian Act was introduced in 1876 and was used by the Canadian government to administer Indian status, local First Nations governments and the management of reserve land. Under the Indian Act, Indigenous people were forced to attend residential schools, with the RCMP playing a major role in what survivors call kidnappings.
To mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Niganobe said, Canadians should familiarize themselves with the TRC’s final report, as well as educate themselves on Canada’s colonial legacy from the perspective of Indigenous authors, speakers and elders within their communities.
“I hope this leads to a greater understanding of inequalities that First Nations people face and have always faced and continue to face to this date,” he said. “An education on a lot of this will probably help us move forward as a nation.”
LEADERS RECOGNIZE DAY TO REFLECT
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter early Thursday, noting that the holiday should be a day for reflection to honour residential schools survivors, their families, and those children who never returned home.
He also reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “advancing reconciliation in concrete ways.”
“Together, we must continue to learn about residential schools and the intergenerational trauma they have caused. It is only by facing these truths and righting these wrongs that we, in partnership with Indigenous peoples, can move toward a better future,” Trudeau said in a tweet.
“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, and on the work that remains to heal and to continue to build an inclusive society,” she said.
In a joint statement from Indigenous Services Canada, several federal ministers called residential schools a “shameful part of damaging racist and colonial policies” and acknowledged that the government has “more work to do” in addressing the calls to action outlined by the TRC.
“All Canadians have the opportunity to come together to ensure that we commemorate the history and recognize the harmful legacy of residential schools, and that this remains an essential part of reconciliation. It is a time for reflection and a commitment to reconciliation and to continuing the work ahead,” the statement read.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to take on the role, said in a statement that the holiday is a poignant one for her as the child of a white father and an Inuk mother.
While she was not allowed to attend residential schools, Simon said, her community “felt the sorrow” of those children who were taken from their families.
“I stayed behind, home-schooled, and visited families where there was a palpable void. I was a stand-in, a well-loved substitute, for mothers and fathers who desperately missed their children,” Simon said in the statement.
Simon said Canada’s legacy of colonization is “hard to accept,” but necessary to address as the country works towards reconciliation.
“Reconciliation is a way of life, continuous, with no end date. It is learning from our lived experiences and understanding one another. It is creating the necessary space for us to heal. It is planting seeds of hope and respect so that our garden blooms for our children,” Simon said.
“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.”
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole issued a statement on Facebook, encouraging Canadians to take part in public commemoration, education, and conversations about the “painful and lasting impacts of residential schools” on Sept. 30.
“This is a heartbreaking reminder of the pain Indigenous children, their families, and their communities were subjected to through residential schools, and that more work needs to be done to address the devastating and harmful effects,” O’Toole said in part. “In order for Canada to reach its full potential as a nation, reconciliation must be central to these efforts.”
On the eve of Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, several survivors spoke to a crowd of hundreds on Parliament Hill to discuss the terrors they experienced in the residential school system.
“It is my hope that in 100 years from now our future generations will identify this date as a milestone in healing the nation and bringing us closer to reconciliation,” said Jimmy Durocher, a Metis man and residential school survivor from Ile-a-la-Crosse, Sask.
On this first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we reflect on the lasting impacts of residential schools. We honour survivors and their families. We remember the children who never made it home. And we reaffirm our commitment to advancing reconciliation in concrete ways.
Together, we must continue to learn about residential schools and the intergenerational trauma they have caused. It is only by facing these truths and righting these wrongs that we, in partnership with Indigenous peoples, can move toward a better future. https://t.co/Myv6w3lTkn
With files from The Canadian Press, CTV National News reporter Creeson Agecoutay, and CTVNews.ca writer Ben Cousins
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If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
