File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Stephanie Higginson, MLA for Ladysmith–Oceanside

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Oct 1, 2025 | 10:30 AM

EARLIER THIS WEEK, we recognized the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, to commemorate and reflect on the strength of the survivors, families, and communities who were forever changed by the residential school system, and especially the children who never came home.

This day coincides with Orange Shirt Day, a campaign that originated here in B.C. with survivor Phyllis Webstad. Upon her arrival at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake in 1973, Phyllis, then aged six, was stripped of her new orange shirt, and never saw it again.

The campaign that Phyllis started has spread across the country, and our B.C. government has observed it since 2017. Seeing students, neighbours, and people from all backgrounds wear orange on Sept. 30 is a reminder that at our core, British Columbians care about each other. This solidarity shows the collective desire to help end racism and violence towards Indigenous people and to proclaim loudly that “every child matters.”

Sept. 30 has taken on an increased significance as searches continue for the graves of missing children at the sites of former Indian Residential Schools and at Indian Hospitals in B.C. and across Canada. These discoveries have highlighted even more starkly the truth about the residential school system, and the continued intergenerational trauma experienced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit today.

Despite the new understanding that these discoveries have granted us, they have also triggered an increase in residential school denialism. This denialism ignores and undermines the work that survivors have done for generations to bring the Truth to light, to gain acknowledgement about what happened in Canada and to ensure we never forget. We cannot have Reconciliation without Truth. As we continue to move forward on the long and winding road of Truth and Reconciliation, it is critical that we stand up and acknowledge the atrocities that were committed against Indigenous people and the lasting effects on survivors, their descendants, and entire communities.

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On Tuesday, myself and my colleagues in the BC NDP caucus were able to attend events across the province to come together with our neighbours, hear from survivors and remember those who never came home. I hope that you also had a chance to reflect on this history and that you can find ways to take steps towards Truth and Reconciliation in your own life and your own community.

We are stronger together, especially when we honour Indigenous culture and stand together to condemn hate and violence.

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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.