Every Child Matters.
September 30th is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as well as Orange Shirt Day. Today aims to honour residential school survivors, their families, and their communities. It also serves as a reminder that the rights of Indigenous peoples must be defended every day so that no Indigenous child feels they don’t matter ever again.
Approximately 150,000 Indigenous children attended 139 residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996, just 30 years ago. The intergenerational impacts of this chapter in Canadian history are still felt today and are often unknown.
During this morning’s Regular Council Meeting, the mayors of our municipalities, along with UCPR staff members, wore orange shirts to mark this important day.