Canada Day and reconciliation: Many looking for meaningful change
Posted July 2, 2022 1:51 pm.
Canada Day has long been a time for celebration and pride. But this year, the day has taken on a different meaning for many Canadians, with the truth of this country’s past continuing to surface, and more people becoming aware of the steps needed for reconciliation.
“Before we can be proud of our country- we need to first recognize the true history of our country,
“We’re all going to think a little bit more about what we’re doing on Canada Day, and more about the different groups that we have in our country and be just a little bit more sympathetic. I think we have a big awareness and a wake up call the last little while,” one person told CityNews.
Another said that with the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites, Canada Day just doesn’t hold the same value it once did.
“You can’t have reconciliation without truth and to blindly celebrate a country that has pretty much committed genocide against Indigenous people — it doesn’t sit right with us,” said a third person.
On Friday, thousands of people gathered in downtown Vancouver for Canada Day festivities. But this year’s celebration had a more serious tone.
Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, the ambassador for Reconciliation Canada, says the road to reconciliation, forgiveness, and understanding “is going to take a lot of hard work.”
He understands Canada Day can be triggering for many First Nations communities, as it’s a day that may represent colonialism and suppression.
“They invaded our homelands, dismissed as being human beings, took our children away in residential schools, of course, and completely marginalized us,” he explained.
The outcome of colonialism, Joseph says, has repercussions that can be seen over 150 years later.
“We can see it manifest through all of the socio-economic indicators that are around — the gut-wrenching poverty, the suicides, the incarceration rates. And so I understand, completely.”
But Joseph says it’s important for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to learn from the past and move forward together.
