On Monday, September 30, Canada celebrates the 4th National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Here’s a quick guide to checking what’s open or closed (it’s not uniform across Canada) and some suggestions to highlight this opportunity to get closer.
Also known as “Orange Shirt Day”, September 30 serves to commemorate the history of residential schools in Canada and to honor survivors and their families on the path to reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples .
No holidays everywhere
September 30 is a statutory holiday for employees in federally regulated sectors. Passport offices and the Canada Revenue Agency will therefore be closed, as will post offices. There will also be no mail delivery. Most banks, credit unions and financial institutions will also be closed.
Currently, only four Canadian provinces and three territories have made September 30 a statutory holiday. These are British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
Elsewhere, with a few exceptions, businesses and transport will operate normally.
However, some municipalities may decide to close their offices or libraries: it is therefore advisable to check this before traveling.
Highlight the event
To mark the event, the Peace Tower and the Senate building in Ottawa will be illuminated (New window) in orange throughout the evening of September 30.
Open in full screen mode
In 2022, the survivors’ flag was raised next to the Peace Tower in Ottawa to mark the discovery of alleged anonymous burials on the sites of former residential schools for Indigenous people.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
Rideau Hall hosts sacred fire ceremony (New window) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this ceremony, the participants, indigenous and non-indigenous, will be encouraged to connect, share knowledge and reflect on the experiences of survivors of the residential school system
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Indigenous television network APTN and the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation present Remember the children – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (New window), a 90-minute memorial gathering that will begin at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast in multiple languages.
Radio-Canada will, for its part, offer live coverage of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada on its various digital platforms. A series of articles on reconciliation was also produced for the occasion.
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