“On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, we honour Survivors of Canada’s residential school system, remember the children who never returned home, and stand with the families and communities who carry that loss.

For more than a century, over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children were separated from their parents, families, and communities and sent to residential schools. The system was built on assimilation policies designed to sever children from their languages, cultures, identities, and ways of life.

The federal government established and sustained this system, and Canada bears responsibility for the profound and enduring harm it caused.

More than 6,600 Survivors and witnesses came forward before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to share painful realities Canada had too long ignored. Their courage ensured that Canada listened, remembered, and reflected.

We owe Survivors more than remembrance. We owe them action. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action remain a roadmap for that work.

In partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, our government is working to close longstanding gaps in health care and education, protect Indigenous languages and cultures, and advance safe drinking water and infrastructure in First Nations communities.

We are advancing the Calls for Justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people, and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Today, Canadians will wear orange and participate in ceremonies to remember the children who never came home – and to honour the Survivors who told the truth so that all Canadians may take up the work of reconciliation.”

For more information: The 24-hour safe and confidential National Indian Residential School Crisis Line, available at 1-866-925-4419, provides crisis referral services to Survivors and their families and explains how to obtain other health supports from the Government of Canada. The Hope for Wellness Helpline provides immediate, toll-free telephone and online chat-based emotional support and crisis intervention to all Indigenous people in Canada. Both telephone and online chat services are available 24/7 in English and French. Telephone support is also available upon request in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. Trained counsellors are available at 1‑855‑242‑3310 or via hopeforwellness.ca.

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