September 30 is National Day for truth and reconciliation.

September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to reflect on the systemic wrong-doing and harm caused by residential schools and the ways colonialism still affects communities today.

This year marks 30 years since the last federally funded residential school in Canada closed. 1996 is not a distant memory, but a reality that continues to shape their lives, families and communities today. 

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation became a federal statutory holiday in 2021. It was created in response to Call to Action 80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which called on the federal government to work with Indigenous peoples to establish this day so that public commemoration of residential schools remains part of reconciliation. Around this time, discoveries were made that forced the country to face a truth Indigenous communities had been telling for years.

Today is also Orange Shirt Day, inspired by Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor. The day is meant to honour survivors, remember the children who never made it home, and commit to a future where Indigenous communities are respected, safe and thriving. Learn more at orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.

September 30 asks us to hold two things at once: grief and commitment. The history of residential schools is directly tied to the violence Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people still face today, including the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Reconciliation requires confronting what is still happening to Indigenous communities today.

Reconciliation is also ongoing, year-round work that means supporting Indigenous leadership, rights and self-determination. It means respecting the deep, ancestral relationship Indigenous peoples have with the land, and recognizing that caring for the land is part of decolonization and our responsibility as settlers on these territories.

In our sector, reconciliation means closing gaps in access to culturally relevant child and family services. It means amplifying Indigenous voices, funding and supporting Indigenous-led organizations and building land acknowledgements and Indigenous history into our programming. These steps take us beyond symbolic gestures, making sure we are committed to being accountable for doing our part towards reconciliation.

The Jane/Finch Centre stands with Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island and in our Black Creek community. We recognize the urgent need to honour the 94 Calls to Action through equitable funding and resource redistribution, meaningful reconciliation and full implementation of the Calls to Action. We're committed to making sure everything we do, online, in our buildings, and in the community, supports healing, justice and equity.