The City of Prince George has announced it will be observing the new Sept. 30 holiday.
On . Aug 3, the BC Government announced it will mark Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as a day of commemoration following legislation passed by the federal government in June.
The B.C. government advised public-sector employers to honour this day and in recognition of the obligations in the vast majority of collective agreements. However, the province’s Employment Standard’s Act which lists statutory holidays remains unchanged.
The objective of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is to commemorate the history and ongoing trauma caused by residential schools and to honour those who were lost and the survivors, families, and communities who continue to grieve.
City of Prince George says its staff who are entitled to federal and provincial statutory holidays will receive this day off.
However, garbage collection will continue as scheduled on Sept. 30 and not disrupt the schedule.
City Hall, including the Service Centre, and Masich Place Stadium will be closed to the public. Other Civic facilities, such as the CN Centre and the arenas will be open for regular hours.
The Prince George Aquatic Centre will be closed as its annual maintenance period takes place from Sept. 7 to Oct. 11.
“In June, the federal government announced Sept. 30 as a new annual statutory day to commemorate the history and ongoing trauma caused by residential schools and to honour those who were lost and the survivors, families and communities who continue to grieve,” said Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, and Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance in a joint statement.
“In recent years, Sept. 30 has been known as Orange Shirt Day, so called because of the residential school experiences of the campaign’s founder, Phyllis Webstad. It is a day when we honour the children who suffered in the residential school system, and many residential school survivors and supporters have advocated for this to become a national day of commemoration, to respond to one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.”
The province also noted that on Sept. 30 many public services will remain open but may be operating at reduced levels.
However, most schools, post-secondary institutions, some health sector workplaces, and Crown corporations will be closed.
