Canada adopted a holiday to commemorate victims of residential schools
The Prime Minister also acknowledged that there had been an indigenous genocide in Canada.
On June 3, a bill to establish a National Day of Truth and Reconciliation received royal assent. This means that Canada will have a new national holiday.
Recently, residents were stunned by the news that a former Indian Residential School was found buried for 215 children on the grounds of a former Indian Residential School. The deaths were not documented. Boarding schools existed in Canada until the late 20th century. Children from indigenous communities were forcibly sent to them to study. They educated more than 150,000 students. Children were forbidden to speak their native languages and schools were prone to widespread physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Canadian Heritage Minister Stephen Guilbeau tweeted that the establishment of a national holiday to honour victims of residential care is "an important step towards reconciliation." The annual holiday will be celebrated on September 30. It will be a day off for government employees and employees whose jobs are federally regulated.
The date was chosen for a reason. September 30 is Orange Shirt Day. It came about because of the story of Phyllis Webstad, a former boarding school student who entered there when she was 6 and had her orange shirt taken away from her on her first day of school. Traditionally, Indian children were taken away to boarding schools in September. National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is a day of respect for residential school survivors, their families and communities.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that what was happening in Canada to Indigenous peoples could amount to genocide.
"In order to truly heal these wounds, we must first acknowledge the truth not only about residential schools, but about so many past and present injustices faced by Indigenous peoples," the prime minister said.
Such a confession could have big consequences for Canada if the court finds the country responsible for crimes against humanity. A group of lawyers from Calgary has already formally asked an international court to investigate the case of the burial of 215 children.
Trudeau also pressed Pope Francis to apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in the establishment of the boarding schools, but the latter merely expressed his deepest regrets. The boarding schools in Canada were run by the Government and the Church, but the Church, unlike the Canadian Government, was not yet in a hurry to take responsibility.
