Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to join from my home in Kamloops in recognizing Orange Shirt Day.
Like many across Canada, the first day of school for my children meant new shoes and new clothes. They returned home excited at the end of the day to share stories about their new teacher and who they got to sit beside. For many residential school survivors, the first day of school was often a day of horror and pain.
Orange Shirt Day was launched in my home province of British Columbia, and it is based on the heartbreaking experience of Phyllis Webstad. She was six years old when she began attending St. Joseph's Mission School in Williams Lake. On the first day, a bright new orange shirt that had been a gift from her grandfather was taken from her. She wrote, “The color orange has always reminded me of that [day] and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing.”
As stated in the residential school apology, the Government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far away from their communities. Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities. First nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools. Tragically, some of the children died while attending residential school and others never returned home.
The fallout from the residential schools continues to create tragedy and trauma. Clearly, Canadians continue to see horrific acts of racism toward indigenous people, whether it be in our hospitals, as we saw in the very troubling story this week, in our justice system, in education or far more.
Orange Shirt Day began in 2013 to educate students about the history and painful legacy of the residential schools. It has spread across the country in these few short years, now involving thousands of students and bringing this message home to their families and their communities. We join them today on the journey of reconciliation.
Every child matters. Their traditions, families, communities and dreams matter.