Ford calls on Ontarians to 'deepen understanding' on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford released a statement Monday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, acknowledging what they described as the “painful legacy” of the residential school system.

“As Ontarians, it is important that we continue to deepen our collective understanding, to honour those who survived and remember the thousands of children who did not make it home,” the statement read.

Now in its fourth year, the federal statutory holiday was established to honour the roughly 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children who were forced into more than 130 government-funded and church-run residential schools throughout Canada.

It’s estimated that as many as 6,000 children died in those schools between the 1870s and 1997, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report released in 2015. However, many say that number is likely underreported. The Commission proposed marking the day as a nationwide holiday as part of its 94 recommendations included in the report.

“On this important day, we are asked to take a moment to acknowledge those in Indigenous communities who are leading the difficult, traumatic work around Indian Residential School Burial Investigations,” the statement continued. “Today and everyday, we are committed to joining you on the path towards meaningful reconciliation.”

In Toronto, Mayor Olivia Chow took part in a traditional sunrise ceremony to mark the official opening of the Spirit Garden at City Hall in Nathan Phillips Square.

“The new Spirit Garden will be a place to honour residential school survivors and remember the children who didn’t make it home, children so cruelly separated from their moms and dads, forced to abandon their languages, cultures, spiritualities, traditions, and identities,” Chow said in a statement posted to X.

Truth and Reconciliation day became a national holiday in June 2021, days after ground-penetrating radar discovered 215 possible unmarked graves in Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

It builds on the Orange Shirt Day, which started in 2013 and was inspired by Phyllis Webstad’s experience as a survivor from the Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not a provincial holiday, but Ontario NDP deputy leader Sol Mamakwa wants that to change.

Mamakwa, who is a residential school survivor himself, is planning to table legislation to declare Sept. 30 as a paid provincial holiday later this fall, in his own Indigenous language.

While Rickford told The Canadian Press in a statement that he was "not entirely persuaded" by Mamakwa's idea, he did not dismiss it.

"We have not reviewed the proposed legislation so we don’t want to presuppose anything," he said. "I am not entirely persuaded that designating the day a holiday will do it justice."

With files from The Canadian press