Indigenous leaders disappointed B.C. won't have a stat holiday to reflecton reconciliation this year

Indigenous leaders and community members are urging the B.C. government to make Sept.30a statutory holiday, so more people can take time to reflect on the legacy of colonialism.

Many will be missing out on the chance to mark the day properly because they will be working, saysCaroline Pollard, a Nisga'a survivor of the Sixties Scoop.

Pollard, 63, has workedin retail for the past three decadesand has the option of taking a paid personal day, she says but that's not an option for everyone.

"I believe the whole of Canada should be given thatopportunity to take that day and learn more," she said.

One of theTruth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action from December 2015 called upon the federal government to establish a statutory holiday to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools.

Bill C-5 received royal assent on June 3, 2021, recognizing Sept.30as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

It's a statutory holiday for employees in the federal government and federally regulated workplaces, but the provinces are taking different approaches toward how it's being observed.

B.C. has advised the provincial public sector andschoolsbe closed on the day, but the province has yet to set it as a statutory holiday.

Shared history

While there's disappointment that the holiday hasn't been made statutory, some say this yearcan become a stepping stone toward that goal and every call to action that is implemented or being worked on gives Indigenous communities hope for reconciliation.

"It's really important for Canadiansto remember that we have this shared history that created all kinds of human suffering, and loss and harm," saysChiefRobert Joseph of the Gwawaenuk First Nation.

Joseph was one of approximately 150,000 First Nations children who suffered years of abuse, isolation and trauma in residential schools.

Hesays Canada can never live up to its aspirations of becoming a fair and just society untilit addresses this history and Sept. 30 should serveas a yearly reminder of the commitment Canadians have made to reconciliation.

"No matter what day or date the statutory holiday falls, it will be the day when we can hold each other to account," Joseph said.

Need for non-Christianholidays

There's a greater need for statutory holidays that reflect the shared history of all Canadians, says Khelsilem, council chairfor the Squamish Nation.

He cites Remembrance Day as an example of how such days can be unifying for the nation as a whole and how the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation could have the same effect.

"I think a lot about the role that, for example, Remembrance Day, plays within our communities ... and how we, as a nation, come together to honour veterans," Khelsilem said.

"What's going to be important is that we use this [day] as one of the many tools that are available to create both a sense of healing in our country, but also a sense of identity," he added.

Many of Canada's current statutory holidays are problematic for Indigenous people, Pollard says.

That's because they're rooted in Christianity anda "product of colonization"because the government's priority in the past was assimilation,she explains.

In a statement to CBC News, B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankinsaid the province aims to "formally recognize"the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in the future.

Rankin said the government is currently talking to Indigenous leaders, survivors and their families about how to do this respectfully.