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Truth and Reconciliation poll

What does the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation mean to you?
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Sonia Palmer, a residential school survivor (centre holding a ceremonial paddle), watches as staff of the Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre get ready to launch a canoe on Lake Kathlyn for Orange Shirt Day, Sept. 30, 2020. (Thom Barker photo)

Sept. 30, 2021 marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Declared a statutory holiday for federal employees in June of this year, the day corresponds to Orange Shirt Day.

“The day honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities,” states the official government web page. “Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.”

While this is the government’s official wording, the day will undoubtedly mean different things for different people.

What does it mean to you? Pick all that apply or enter your own answer.

Indigenous leaders call for ‘concrete action’ on First National Day for Truth and Reconciliation



Thom Barker

About the Author: Thom Barker

After graduating with a geology degree from Carleton University and taking a detour through the high tech business, Thom started his journalism career as a fact-checker for a magazine in Ottawa in 2002.
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