September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation also known as “Orange Shirt Day”. On this day, we honour the Indigenous children who never came home, the survivors of residential schools, and the families and communities forever changed by colonial violence.
Truth and reconciliation mean nothing without justice. Residential schools were not just a painful chapter; they were instruments of colonial policy designed to break nations and erase cultures. That legacy continues today in the form of stolen land, poisoned water, and every time our governments refuse to honour treaties.
We call on all levels of government to stop the delay, denial, and neglect, and implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
We call on workers and unions to continue the important solidarity work: defending land and water, supporting Indigenous workers, amplifying Indigenous voices in our unions, supporting Indigenous leadership, and demanding justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirt people.
The Ontario Federation of Labour recommits to that solidarity, today and every day.
Cope343
