OTTAWA: Governor General Louise Arbour urged Canadians to confront residential school injustices on Wednesday as Canada marked its sixth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Before ceremonies on Parliament Hill, Arbour acknowledged the pain of facing the past. However, she said, “understanding the truth is essential to building a more just future.”
She later addressed the gathering before officials raised the Survivors’ Flag outside West Block. Arbour described the flag as a warning and a symbol of hope. She also urged Canadians to listen to survivors and their families.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the residential school system sought to separate Indigenous children from their languages, cultures and identities.
In a statement before his planned Edmonton address, he argued that survivors deserved action alongside remembrance. Canada’s residential schools operated from 1857 to 1996.
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Some 150,000 Indigenous children had to leave their families to attend government or church-run institutions.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found widespread abuse and neglect, alongside lasting harm across generations. Its findings linked the institutions to as many as 6,000 deaths, mostly from malnutrition or disease.
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Yet only 15 of the commission’s 94 calls to action have taken effect, 11 years after its report. Residential school survivor Eugene Arcand told CBC News on Parliament Hill that complacency had set in since publication.
He called for greater co-operation to address the commission’s recommendations. For Arbour, Wednesday was her first observance as governor general.
She took office this summer after Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to hold the position. Governor General Louise Arbour urged Canadians to confront residential school injustices as Canada marked its sixth national observance.
