Toronto: Today is Canada’s second annual National Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day, will be marked with ceremonies, marches, and other activities.
Following the discovery of probable unmarked grave sites at previous residential schools, the National Truth and Reconciliation Day was introduced last year.
It is up to each province and territory to determine whether to declare it a holiday for government, education, and commercial employees.
Schools in Ontario will be open and running as normal. According to Erika Robson, a spokesman for Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford, the day is a moment for schools, companies, and communities to remember people who have been impacted by the legacy of residential school practises.
Today’s events include the orange illumination of Parliament Hill’s Peace Tower, programmes regarding residential schools at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and a community powwow at the Victoria-area Songhees Nation.
On this National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, we recognise that CHCH, located at 4 Innovation Dr., sits on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
We are also located amid the historic lands of the neutral and Haudenosaunee, on territory that is today home to many varied First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
We appreciate the Mississaugas of the Credit and our First Nations neighbours for sharing this land with us and pledge to listen, learn, celebrate, and build respectful and meaningful relationships with one another.