Below are significant dates that HEU marks every year
January
- January 4 - Ribbon Skirt Day
National Ribbon Skirt Day celebrates and honours the resilience, culture and traditions of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse and people.
Shortly before the 2020 seasonal break, Isabella Kulak, a youth from the Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan, proudly wore a beautiful, handmade ribbon skirt to a school event. Sadly, she was chastised and humiliated by staff who told her that the ribbon skirt does not count as “formal dress”.
The ribbon skirt is a sacred, spiritual and political symbol of womanhood, identity, adaptation and survival and Isabella was excited to display her Ojibway heritage.
As outlined by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, her story soon went viral on social media. And in solidarity, a group of women wearing ribbon skirts drummed Isabella to her classroom on January 4, 2021, when school reopened.
Since then, a bill introduced by Senator Mary Jane McCallum was passed to establish January 4 as National Ribbon Skirt Day, acknowledging and affirming Indigenous peoples right to dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
- January 15 - Black Excellence Day
Black Excellence Day, created by Ninandotoo Society, is a day to celebrate Black history and learn about Black stories, art and people.
January 15 was chosen to honour the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was born on that day in 1929.
HEU stands in solidarity with Black Canadians, recognizing the significant contributions they’ve made in our history and in the labour movement, despite their ongoing experiences of harassment, discrimination, incarceration, and police violence.
Our union contributed to Article 32 of the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that calls on us to collect member data to measure our impact on addressing anti-Black racism within HEU and to help eliminate discriminatory employment practices against ethnic minorities in hiring, retention and promotion.
Learn more at https://blackexcellenceday.ca/
- January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Eighty years ago, on January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated by allies during World War II. The United Nations General Assembly has designated this day to commemorate and honour the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
We honour the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of the Nazi regime that advanced a nationalist, racist, antisemitic and discriminatory agenda.
As a social justice union committed to defending human rights and promoting world peace, HEU is alarmed by the acts of violence against Jewish community members in Canada, and around the globe. HEU commits to naming and addressing these forms of hate and violence and supporting the UN commitment to addressing the residual trauma, maintaining effective remembrance policies, caring for historic sites, and promoting education, documentation and research, more than seven decades after the genocide.
Read more about about International Holocaust Remembrance Day at: International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust | UNESCO
- January 29 - National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia
Today, January 29, is the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia. On this date in 2017, the lives of six worshippers at a Québec City cultural centre were tragically taken by the violent and hateful act of Islamophobia.
We remember and grieve the loss of Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzedine Soufiane, and Aboubaker Thabti, who were fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, and community members. Their lives were taken after evening prayers at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City.
As hate-crimes, racism and discrimination against Muslims in Canada drastically increased in 2021, in June of 2021, the Afzaal family in Ontario was targeted and hit by a truck, killing four and injuring one, while out for an evening walk.
We grieve the loss of these lives and the impacts on families and communities. As a social justice union, we stand against these acts of violence and commit to standing with the survivors and addressing Islamophobia and gender-based discrimination targeting women in hijab.
This day calls us to honour those who have been lost to Islamophobia and to work together to confront and eradicate Islamophobia, hate, discrimination, and racism that’s been on the rise in Canada.
Learn more at https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/combatting-islamophobia-canada.html
February
- February - Black History Month
Black people have been part of Canada since the early-1600s before slavery was abolished in 1834. Canada’s economy was built by enslaved Black people and it benefitted by the unpaid and low-paid labour of Black people in all aspects of society, including health care.
Black History Month was championed by Canada’s first Black Member of Parliament Jean Augustine in 1995. It’s a time to celebrate the history, culture, heritage and leadership of people of African descent.
According to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in Canada, there’s “structural racism that lies at the core of many Canadian institutions and the systemic anti-Black racism that continues to have a negative impact on the human rights situation of African Canadians.”
As we mark Black History Month, we’re part of a future where Black lives are safe from police violence, where Black people everywhere enjoy full recognition and liberation, and a future where Black opportunities are abundant.
Check out these resources to learn more:
- Canadian Black history timeline: https://psacunion.ca/moments-canadian-history-black-labour
- Black health care leaders: https://therounds.com/blog/5-prominent-black-hcps-that-impacted-canadian-healthcare/
- History of Black labour in Canada: https://lmic-cimt.ca/part-1-a-brief-history-of-black-labour-in-canada/
- Anti-racism and mental health: https://jack.org/antiracismresources
- February 1 - World Hijab Day
Founded by Nazma Khan, World Hijab Day promotes women’s right to freedom of expression and religion, and awareness of women who choose to wear the hijab.
Nazma, who moved from Bangladesh to New York at age 11, experienced discrimination, harassment and bullying at school for wearing her headscarf.
She became an activist, and started World Hijab Day in 2013, encouraging women around the globe – regardless of their religion – to understand, wear and experience the hijab for one day.
Today, more than 150 countries participate in World Hijab Day.
In 2019, Québec passed the discriminatory Bill 21 which prohibits teachers, law enforcement, and public employees in positions of authority from wearing any type of religious clothing or symbols on the job – such as turbans, hijabs, crucifixes, or yarmulkes.
As a social justice union, HEU commits to actively addressing the ongoing presence of xenophobia, racism, discrimination, Islamophobia, and gendered Islamophobia targeting women in hijab that’s particularly high in Canada.
Learn more at https://worldhijabday.com/
- Ramadan (dates vary)
Ramadan is one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims across the world. It is a time for Muslims to reflect and contemplate their relationship with God, but also a time for charity, and good deeds.
Muslims typically fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a way of drawing closer to God, and as a reminder of the suffering of those less fortunate. Ramadan is also a time for families and friends to come together as they break their fast.
Ramadan takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The start of the month depends on the sighting of the crescent moon.
- February 14 - Valentine's Day
Today on Valentine's Day, we reminded of the love and care that health care workers bring to their jobs every day. HEU members are the heart of health care. Thank you for your incredible commitment to delivering quality health care to British Columbians all across the province.
February 14 is also when communities across Canada hold an annual Women’s Memorial March. The March began in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood more than 30 years ago. These community marches remember and honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Learn more about the lived experience of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside: https://dewc.ca/dewc-news/red-women-rising/
- February 26 - Pink Shirt Day
Since 2008, HEU has been supporting Pink Shirt Day to stand up against bullying and raise awareness of its devastating consequences.
Pink Shirt Day originated the year before in Nova Scotia after high school student Chuck McNeill was bullied for wearing a pink shirt.
In solidarity, students David Shepherd and Travis Price bought 50 pink shirts and distributed them to their classmates. The majority of students came to school dressed in pink to show their support.
HEU stands against all forms of bullying, harassment and discrimination, and encourages our members to wear pink as an act of anti-bullying solidarity.
Join us today to take a stand against all forms of bullying by wearing a pink shirt!
🔗 Learn more at https://pinkshirtdaycanada.ca/