Orange Shirt Day garnered lots of support at this year’s annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Convention.
Joan Sorley, with the Cariboo Regional District was in Winnipeg during the 4 day event, to present a resolution on why the Day should go national.
“Once the Truth and Reconciliation Report came out calling for a national day to honor residential school survivors and those that didn’t, we just thought we already have Orange Shirt Day across the country and it’s working. Long story short, the resolution went to our area association last year and then to UBCM in Vancouver in September where it was overwhelmingly accepted, and at FCM it was accepted by a high majority also so that’s very exciting.”
A spokesperson for FCM says the resolution garnered more than 80% of the delegates support.
Orange Shirt Day which takes place on September 30th is in recognition of the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, and as an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters.
It is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013, and grew through the story of former residential school student Phyllis Webstad who’s shiny new orange shirt bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year old girl.