September 30th is the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

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every child matters

This year, for the first time, September 30th will be marked as a statutory holiday - the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

For many years, this day has been commemorated as Orange Shirt Day, based on the story of residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, who as a child, had her new favourite orange shirt stripped from her on her first day of attending residential school.

This new national holiday brings people together in the spirit of reconciliation to honour residential school survivors and their families. 

From the 1870s to the 1990s, the residential school system was a collaboration between the Government of Canada and mainstream churches to remove Indigenous children from their communities, and from their families and culture.

This year, the unmarked graves of thousands of Indigenous children from residential schools have been discovered and is a horrifying reminder of the atrocities of the residential school system and the genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Today is a day to reflect on this truth and commit to reconciliation.

Below is a list of actions that you can take to commemorate this day, including online and in person events around the province that you can attend.

Actions:

Online Events:

In Person Events:

Thank you to the BC Federation of Labour for supplying this event list.
For an updated list of events, please visit bcfed.ca/events