Holiday for reconciliation draws mixed reactions
The federal government’s intention to enact a statutory holiday aimed at remembering the legacy of Canada’s residential school system has drawn mixed reactions from Indigenous Canadians, with responses to the plan ranging from cautious optimism to open disdain.
Many have expressed concern that such an occasion — dedicated to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples — could simply devolve into another day off for most Canadians, and note that a lot of work will need to be done if the day is to achieve its goal.
“Reconciliation right now is a great buzz word, but that’s kind of where it seems to end,” said Frances Moore, an Anishinaabe woman from Timiskaming First Nation in Quebec who now lives in London, Ont. “If this truly is about reconciliation, then great, do this day, but let’s also see action in other ways.”
The steps needed to make a prospective day of remembrance effective would have to involve the government making educational resources available across the country to ensure the effects of residential schools remain front and centre, Moore said.
Input from Indigenous Canadians from all walks of life will be essential to designing a meaningful tribute day, but they should not be left alone to shoulder the burden of educating the broader public, Moore said.
Governments and allies, she said, should “step up” and relieve survivors and those who love them of the “emotional labour” of telling traumatizing stories that have not yet come to an end.
The government-funded, church-run residential schools operated for more than a century. Indigenous children were ripped away from their families, usually starting in late September, and sent to schools where they endured widespread sexual, emotional and physical abuse.
Evelyn Korkmaz, who spent several years at the St. Anne’s Residential School in northern Ontario, said the projected day of tribute would do little more than re-open those wounds for her and her fellow survivors.
“Who wants to be reminded every year your country and Church betrayed and destroyed your innocence? No thanks,” Korkmaz wrote in an email, adding that she is not aware of widespread efforts to consult survivors before the government floated the possibility of a stat holiday.
If Parliament did approve a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday, it would only apply to federally regulated workplaces — the civil service, marine ports, airports, airlines and telecommunications companies. Provinces and territories would have to amend their existing labour codes to establish any additional day off.