Skip to content

Editorial: Truth and Reconciliation

The publishing date of this week's edition of the Airdrie City View falls on a new federal holiday in Canada – the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 
Airdrie Our View_text

The publishing date of this week's Airdrie City View falls on a new federal holiday in Canada – the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Formerly known as Orange Shirt Day, the implementation of the new federally recognized statutory holiday on Sept. 30 was one of the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report in 2015. 

“The day honours the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities,” reads a Government of Canada web page about the new holiday. "Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process."

Our front-page story this week intended to bring awareness to and highlight one local community group – the Circle For Indigenous Relations in Airdrie and Area (CFIR Airdrie) – and their efforts to promote the continued need for reconciliation in this country. As group co-founder Heather Harke told us during our interview, the new holiday is a “great first step to share information, to share knowledge, and opportunities for education.”  

Though it has taken six years to bring this specific Call to Action to fruition, our newsroom was pleased to see the federal government adopt the new holiday this year. We hope the Alberta government will formally recognize it next year. 

Locally, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be commemorated in a few ways. Airdrie City Hall will be illuminated in orange lights on Sept. 30, while a pathway of orange footprints was recently approved by City council and painted in Nose Creek Regional Park, to reflect the idea that "Every Child Matters.”

As well, a teepee has been set up across from the RCMP building in Airdrie's Highland Park, and local officers will participate in a smudging ceremony on Sept. 30.

Similar to Remembrance Day on Nov. 11, we feel the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation can become a poignant day of sombre reflection and education on Canadians' yearly calendars.

 


Airdrie  City View

About the Author: Airdrie City View

Read more



Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks