Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,
We are deeply disappointed that the government has decided against making the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a provincial statutory holiday.
NDP MLA Ian Bushie had introduced a bill to make this day, also known as Orange Shirt Day in Manitoba, a stat holiday here in our province, but the government has decided it does not want to proceed.
Previously, this government had asked the Labour Management Review Committee for advice on how to mark the day in our province. I am glad to say that the LMRC was able to reach a consensus recommendation that government should take steps to ensure that the greatest number of workers possible can take part in marking the this day, as it is an important opportunity for all of us to take time and reflect on the past, as well as to think about where we want to go as a country in a spirit of reconciliation. The LMRC had proposed that the province could mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with specific legislation and rules around business closures like Remembrance Day, or it could identify the day as a statutory holiday.
In anticipation of MLA Bushie’s Orange Shirt Day bill going to legislative committee, the MFL had prepared the attached legislative submission. Sadly, given the government’s decision, I will not get the opportunity to speak to this very important bill.
I want to thank Ian Bushie and the entire Manitoba NDP team for their advocacy to mark this important day here in our province, and to ensure working people have a chance to honor survivors, their families and communities, as well as to learn more about the history and legacy of residential schools. In the words of the Honorable Murray Sinclair, it is a day “to make the country take a look at itself.”
In Solidarity,
Kevin Rebeck
President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour