09/30/2026
Today is not a day for celebration. It is a day for reflection.
As immigrants to Canada, learning about the history of residential schools was difficult for us. It is painful to realize that throughout history, in different parts of the world, terrible things have happened when those with power believed that they knew what was right for others.
And history reminds us that this is not only about the past. Today, Ukrainian children are being unlawfully taken from occupied territories and transferred to Russia — another painful reminder of what can happen when those with power decide they have the right to take away a child’s home, language, culture, and identity.
Everything has a price. And the consequences of past decisions can remain for generations.
But there is also something powerful in being able to look honestly at the past, acknowledge what was done, listen to those who suffered, and say: this happened, it was wrong, and it must not be forgotten.
Today is about truth, remembrance, understanding, and reconciliation.
Every Child Matters.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30