Credit: Canada.ca

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: National reconciliation day is more than just another stat

Sep 29, 2021 | 4:45 AM

KAMLOOPS — TOMORROW’S A HOLIDAY and some people aren’t at all sure what it’s about. The federal government has declared Sept. 30 as a new stat — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It’s also Orange Shirt Day.

So let’s talk about it. There’s lots going on in the way of virtual events and it’s a good day to reflect on how we think about reconciliation and what we as individuals can do to help achieve it.

Not everybody, though, thinks it’s a good idea. Even indigenous leaders are divided over whether the new holiday is worthwhile. Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel, for example, thinks there’s nothing to celebrate because “no significant changes have been made” toward reconciliation.

Tk’emlups te Secwepmc Chief Rosanne Casimir, on the other hand, sees it as an opportunity to focus attention on the missing children of residential schools. The issue of unrecorded deaths at those schools, and the circumstances surrounding them, began in Kamloops and was quickly followed by discoveries of gravesites at other residential schools.

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That’s one important example of where we need to find answers. Despite all the national and international attention on the schools this year, the Catholic Church’s acceptance of responsibility will be incomplete until Pope Francis offers a formal apology. All the facts about those missing kids won’t be known until all the records are released, and maybe not even then.

And the full truth of the Kamloops residential school burial ground will be unknown until and if the Kamloops band makes the difficult decision to do at least some limited exhumation.

There are many such tough decisions and difficult truths ahead of us yet.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation reminds of that. It’s not only about what we’ve done or haven’t done, but what we can and must do. It’s about looking back, yes, but just as importantly, it’s about looking ahead.

That’s why it’s much more than just another stat.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.