For the time being, Ontario will not support declaring Truth and Reconciliation Day a holiday: minister

The Indigenous affairs minister announced on Thursday that the government of Premier Doug Ford will not back a New Democrat bill that would establish the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a provincial holiday. Greg Rickford does, however, leave the opportunity for future declarations of the day as a holiday. 

Earlier this month, New Democrat Sol Mamakwa, Ontario’s sole First Nation representative at Queen’s Park, introduced a bill for his proposed Day of Reflection on Indian Residential Schools on September 30, also referred to as Orange Shirt Day. A residential school victim, Mamakwa has talked about the atrocities he and his friends went through there.

The day has been declared a federal statutory holiday in several additional provinces and territories. The union that represents public sector employees in Ontario is one of many that have successfully negotiated the day as a holiday in their collective agreements. 

The day honors the mistreatment that Inuit, First Nations, and Métis people endured in over 100 residential schools that were run by the government and churches nationwide. The day honors the mistreatment that Inuit, First Nations, and Métis people endured in over 100 residential schools that were run by the government and churches nationwide.

The province has received support for the holiday from several Indigenous organizations. According to Rickford, the government is supporting a four-phase procedure as part of their efforts to make amends over residential schools. 

Through the use of cadaver dog searches, excavations, and ground-penetrating radar, the $92.4-million fund assists Indigenous people in locating potential burial locations. In addition, it provides funding for the return of remains, and in its last phase, it addresses the topic of memorialization and remembrance, which may involve a statutory holiday. Rickford stated that First Nation communities are spearheading the initiative with financial assistance from the province.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: An Overview

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation every year. The children who never came home, residential school survivors, their families, and their communities are all honored on this day. In honor of the terrible legacy of residential schools, the lost children, the families who were left behind, and the survivors, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Orange Shirt Day is observed on September 30, 2021, which is also the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In 2013, the Orange Shirt Society, the original non-profit organization, celebrated Orange Shirt Day for the first time.

Phyllis Webstad, a member of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation and a survivor of residential schools, founded Orange Shirt Day in 2013. She was removed from her family when she was six years old and sent to the St. Joseph’s Mission “School.” Her grandmother got her a gorgeous orange shirt for her first day of school. Because orange evoked memories of Phyllis’s and other Indigenous children’s experiences, the Orange Shirt has come to represent solidarity with survivors of residential schools.

On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, what should you do?

• To openly demonstrate your support for survivors, wear orange.
• Contribute to Indigenous groups such as the Indian Residential School Survivor Society.
• Learn more about the system of residential schools. 

Every Child Is Important 

Many Indigenous children in Residential “Schools” were made to feel as though they didn’t matter, which is why Every Child Matters was founded. It is unacceptable that Indigenous children were treated in such cruel and blatantly illegal ways, and we want to show present and future generations of kids that they are important. In addition to serving as a reminder of historical injustices, Every Kid Matters is a call to action for all of us to fight for Indigenous rights now and every day so that no Indigenous kid ever feels unimportant.