CANADA — Canadians are observing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation today, a day dedicated to remembering the children who never returned from residential schools and honouring Survivors, their families and communities.

September 30 is also Orange Shirt Day. Canadian Heritage traces that grassroots observance to Williams Lake, British Columbia, in 2013. The orange shirt represents the loss of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children in residential schools.

The federal statutory holiday was established in 2021 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 80. Its purpose includes ensuring that the history and continuing effects of residential schools remain part of public remembrance.

A day to listen and learn

Commemorations offer opportunities to hear Indigenous voices and learn about the effects of the residential school system across generations. Wearing orange is one visible gesture; understanding the history behind it gives that gesture meaning.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to attend and speak at a commemorative event in Edmonton at 9:30 a.m. local time, according to his office’s published itinerary. That appearance was still ahead at the time this article was prepared.

In Hamilton, a free community gathering is scheduled at West Harbour’s James Street Plaza from 10 a.m. to noon. Our local report has the event details.

Sources: Canadian Heritage; Prime Minister’s September 30 itinerary; City of Hamilton.

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration, not a photograph of the reported event.