“A day remembering commitment to the history of our Indigenous communities, to healing and to an inclusive future. We want this federal holiday to be observed in all provinces from now on. It is high time to align the federal government’s values of reconciliation with the fundamental values of Quebec,” underlines the president of the Quebec Native Council of CUPE-Quebec, Guylaine Bouchard.
At the end of the summer period, the Quebec Native Council of CUPE-Quebec sent a letter to Prime Minister François Legault so that he officially recognizes this day, as have several Quebec institutions, and offers this day of contemplation national to Quebec workers. To this day, we are still waiting for a response from the Premier of Quebec.
Origin
Orange Shirt Day is inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad, who was taken from her community and sent to St. Joseph Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, British Columbia. As a child, Phyllis was given an orange sweater by her grandmother to wear on her first day at school. It was confiscated and destroyed by his teachers upon his arrival at the establishment.
Her story has come to symbolize the colonial goal of residential schools, the assimilation of Indigenous peoples. September 30 was chosen as the day of remembrance because it was in the fall that Indigenous children were forced to attend residential school.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) recommended the creation of a statutory holiday to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system. The new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established as part of the reconciliation process.
In June 2021, the Canadian Parliament passed legislation to make September 30 a new federal holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Since then, this date has become a public holiday for workers in federally regulated sectors.
“Unfortunately, most provinces have not added September 30 to the public holiday calendar. The majority of CUPE members work in sectors under provincial jurisdiction and therefore, September 30 is considered a normal work day for many of them across the country. It is therefore up to members and local sections to put pressure on us to commemorate September 30 and grant them this public holiday in all provinces,” recalled Guylaine Bouchard.
******
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter – to receive all the links to access the articles published each week.
Every week, PTAG publishes new articles in its different sections (economy, environment, politics, social movements, international news, etc.). The weekly letter sends you by email the links which allow you to access these articles.
Click on this button to subscribe to the PTAG newsletter:
){kind=link}