OTTAWA — A new holiday is coming to your calendar, one that will mark the dark legacy of Canada’s residential school system. In its ongoing pursuit of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, the Trudeau government is consulting First Nations, Métis and Inuit groups to create a new “national day” to honour those who attended the infamous church-run schools, where tens of thousands of children indoctrinated into the languages and religions of Canadian settler society after being taken from their families.Simon Ross, press secretary to Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, said the goal is to fulfil one of the 94 “calls to action” issued in 2015 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which spent seven years documenting the history and impact of residential schools before releasing its recommendations. Call No. 80 is for a new statutory holiday known as the “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” to honour survivors and their families and ensure “public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools.”“That’s exactly what we will do, and we will do that in partnership with Indigenous peoples,” Ross said. “We have committed to fulfilling all of the calls to action.” Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said his organization has pushed for a national holiday to remember residential schools since 2010, and that First Nations need to be involved in choosing an appropriate date. He said some possibilities include June 21, which is already celebrated as National Indigenous Peoples Day, and Sept. 30, which is marked as “Orange Shirt Day” as part of a residential schools awareness campaign started in British Columbia. “It’s all about the impacts of the residential schools, and the genocide that it had on Indigenous peoples,” Bellegarde said. “That’s a chapter that people don’t like a ...
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