N.S. Government Offices, Schools Will Close For Truth And Reconciliation Day
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia will recognize September 30 as Truth and Reconciliation Day beginning this year. New Brunswick has decided it will not.
Provincial government offices, public schools and regulated child care will be closed. Businesses will have the choice, as they do on other occasions, to remain open.
“We are taking this step to recognize the importance of honouring First Nations, Inuit and Métis residential school survivors and their families and communities,” said Premier Tim Houston. “We encourage all Nova Scotians, whether you are working or in school, to make time on September 30 for important discussions about Canada’s history of residential schools.”
Truth and Reconciliation Day will acknowledge the legacy of residential schools and the vital role it holds in the reconciliation process. The new federal statutory Truth and Reconciliation holiday received Royal Assent in early June after it was passed unanimously in the Senate.
The New Brunswick government has made the decision not to recognize Truth and Reconciliation day on September 30 as a provincial holiday.
Federally regulated workplaces will be closed, but provincial services can remain open.
Premier Blaine Higgs encourages everyone to consider what they can do to advance reconciliation and help create a better, more inclusive province.
Mount Allison University Indigenous Affairs Coordinator Patty Musgrave-Quinn says this is shameful.
“Being allies with all of the First Nations in this province and the people is only to their benefit. To totally disregard people in this way, that’s not appropriate,” she says.
Musgrave-Quinn says there are a number of businesses and schools in the province that are choosing independently to keep their doors closed on that day, for the time of reflection.
“When you think about the survivors and the descendants, it is a pretty profound thing to be able to sit back and say, finally this country is recognizing that we need that time of reflection.”