Feb 15, 2023
The Saskatchewan Health Quality Council (HQC) will be commemorating September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Beginning in 2022, the Health Quality Council will recognize this day as a statutory holiday.
“It is important for us both as an organization – and as individuals – to listen and learn from survivors of the residential school system. This day will provide our staff with the opportunity to honor those stories and to acknowledge the impact residential schools has had on Indigenous Peoples in our province and beyond,” said HQC CEO Tracey Sherin.
To recognize the significance of this day, HQC staff will be taking part in a sharing event on September 30, 2021 that will allow staff to reflect, learn from others, and to create space for reconciliation in their daily lives. The goal is to have staff think about what things they can do as individuals in the community that will contribute to meaningful reconciliation.
In June, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make September 30 a federal statutory holiday for federally-regulated workers in the public and private sector. This holiday was created in response to the Truth and Reconciliation’s Call to Action #80 – to honour survivors, their families, and communities, and to ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.
This date coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which is a way to honour Indigenous children forced to leave their families to attend residential schools. Beginning in 2013, events around Orange Shirt Day were designed to commemorate the residential school experience and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation.
HQC humbly works with Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan to contribute towards the Truth and Reconciliation call to Action #19, with a goal of supporting First Nations and Métis communities to make sustainable improvements to enhance their health and wellness.
