How to keep the Truth and Reconciliation conversation going past Sept. 30

TORONTO -

For Rose LeMay, the announcement of Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation brought forward “a lot of mixed emotions.”

LeMay, who is originally from the Taku River Tlingit First Nation in northern B.C., works as the CEO for the Ottawa-based Indigenous Reconciliation Group and questions whether or not the statutory holiday would exist if not for the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. in May.

“On one hand, I was thankful they had finally taken this step,” LeMay said speaking to CTV News Toronto. “I also feel that I highly doubt this would have happened without the news of the unmarked graves.”

First introduced in the House of Commons on Sept. 29, 2020, Bill C-5 aimed to create a statutory holiday to commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools in Canada.

Developed in response to the 94 calls to action laid out in a 2015 report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the bill would only receive royal assent on June 3 of this year—a week after ground-penetrating radar found children buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Since then, more than 1,000 other graves have been discovered throughout Canada, leaving First Nations, Métis and Inuit families and communities across the country with a reminder of the school system’s horrific impact.

At the same time, non-Indigenous Canadians have been forced to reflect on their own understanding of the country’s history and the reconciliatory efforts needed to bring about change.

But how can we keep the focus on truth and reconciliation going beyond Sept. 30?

LeMay says the answer is simple: keep talking about it.

“The more we talk about it the more we will bring about social change,” LeMay said. “We have more and more people, hundreds of Canadians talking about it with their families, their neighbours, with their professional networks at work.”

“The more people that continue to talk about it, the more pressure is put on sector leaders, and politicians and community leaders.”

And LeMay believes the conversations that are happening now and in years past surrounding Canada’s history with residential schools are already having an effect.

“I’ve seen Canadians bring this up over and over and over again. I’ve seen media continue to bring it up. I think we’ve turned a page. It might be hard to tell right now…I think we’re just at the beginning of that change, but I think we’ve made a shift.”

A young Jingle Dancer looks on before performing for a crowd during a "Cancel Canada Day" rally in Toronto, on Thursday, July 1, 2021 to honour former residential school victims. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

In addition to that dialogue, Pam Palmater, a Mi'kmaq lawyer and chair of Indigenous governance at Ryerson University, suggests that action can be taken now by the federal government to advance reconciliation, including handing over all documents associated with the residential school system.

“For the documents that exist, it gives us a piece of our history. We need to know the truth so Canadian’s can move forward. That could mean prosecution, compensation, but most importantly, for the families to know where their children are,” Palmater told CTV News Toronto.

Those documents would be especially significant as provinces work to identify and commemorate burial sites at former residential schools.

In Ontario, which is notably not marking National Day of Truth and Reconciliation as a provincial statutory holiday, the government has earmarked $10 million to work with Indigenous leaders and develop a process for identifying these sites, of which there are believed to be at least 12.

According to Mark Hill, the elected chief of Six Nations of the Grand River, that includes almost 500 acres to be searched at the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford.

“We need all and any evidence that could help us with recovery of any graves,” Hill said.

For now, LeMay says Canadians should spend the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation to deepen their understanding of the country’s past and the impact colonial policies have had on First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.

“Think about who all of our neighbours are. We have, every single one of us, have Indigenous neighbours, we have settler neighbours, and how do we actually look at each other with empathy and build a community together?” LeMay asked.

“That takes some time to think through, so spend the time tomorrow to learn more and choose to be empathetic Canadians to each other.”