(File photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

National Day For Truth And Reconciliation

Town to close facilities for Sept. 30 holiday

Sep 10, 2021 | 3:26 PM

The Town of Battleford will honour the National Day For Truth And Reconciliation on Sept. 30 by making it a statutory holiday for the town.

The federal government recently announced it passed legislation to establish the day as a federal statutory holiday to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools. The government said people may wish to use the day for quiet reflection or to participate in a community event.

“The Government of Canada is committed to reconciliation and ensuring that the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools is never forgotten,” the federal government said on its website.

The issue was discussed at this week’s Battleford town council meeting.

“All our departments will be closed for that day, except for maybe the hockey rink because it was scheduled to open up the day after [Oct. 1],” Mayor Ames Leslie said.

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He added that some staff may perhaps be needed to complete prep work at the town’s hockey rink on Sept. 30, but otherwise all town buildings will be closed. The hockey rink will not be open to the public on Sept. 30 as well.

Leslie said he believes it’s important to acknowledge the day.

“The city and the town signed on to the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities and had a reception here on June 30,” he said. “It’s the next step in honouring our neighbours, and being diverse and inclusive to our Indigenous neighbours.”

Leslie alluded to Canada’s painful Residential School history, as addressed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s report and Calls to Action, that impacts many lives, especially those in the Battlefords region.

A radar ground search for unmarked graves near the Delmas Residential School site is currently underway. As well, once the search in the Delmas area is complete, the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs will begin a new search around the Battleford Industrial School site.

“It’s next on the list to be radared as well,” Leslie said. “So it makes sense to make sure the town is living up to its own belief to support our neighbours.”

He said the holiday may not be a time for celebration, but it will “definitely be a recognition of those survivors, and those who didn’t survive residential school, as part of Truth and Reconciliation.”

Because Sept. 30 will be a holiday, to mark the National Day For Truth And Reconciliation, town staff will wear orange at work on Sept. 29.

“We are definitely going to support it the best way we can,” Leslie said.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow