Minister's message for Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Crossing the stage to pick up your high school diploma is one of the proudest moments in many young people’s lives, and for many parents, grandparents, and caregivers.

But for survivors of the Indian Residential School system, recognition, celebration, culture, and family were not usually part of their experience. The shíshálh Nation and School District 46 (the Sunshine Coast School District) took action with a powerful moment of acknowledgment and healing.

On Sept. 17, 2025, shíshálh survivors were finally honoured with high school graduation certificates. It was a recognition of the truth the survivors have shared that for many young people, these schools were a place of abuse and trauma, not a place of learning. Acknowledging the resilient and inspirational role survivors have played for future generations through a local graduation ceremony was a unique way for this community to offer a long-overdue moment of recognition.

Sept. 30—National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day—is a day for British Columbians and all Canadians to honour the strength, dignity, and advocacy of survivors and intergenerational survivors of the Indian Residential School system. It is a day to shine a light on reconciliation, anti-racism, and anti-bullying efforts, and to remind us that we all still have work to do to move forward from the weight of our shared past.

When Orange Shirt Day started in 2013, the curriculum around Indian Residential Schools also started being integrated to classrooms in BC. This means next year’s 2026 high school graduates will be the first cohort to have gone through public school with a more fulsome understanding and appreciation of Indigenous perspectives, cultures, and histories.

This is another important step toward reconciliation, as we can’t get to a better future unless we know where we’ve come from.

Despite the Government of Canada and the Churches negotiating the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and the extensive sharing of courageous testimonies and truth and research of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada, some choose denial over empathy, even in the face of irrefutable truth. These facts were formally recognized through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2006 and acknowledged by the churches involved.

In British Columbia, we have the chance to witness the truth and participate in small acts of reconciliation all year round. From walking in the Penelakut Tribe’s annual Spune’luxtth’ March for the children who went missing from Kuper Island Residential School to witnessing the strength of the Ktunaxa people who transformed their former residential school into an educational and economic engine for the region. Events and stories like these teach us how important it is to take steps together to build a brighter future.

On Sept. 30, we will join British Columbians and raise our hands in honour of survivors and remember children who never came home. We will all commit to continue to hear, honour and walk with Indian Residential School survivors and their families.

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Residential School survivor Support Services are available:

A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former Residential School students and those affected. Access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1 866 925-4419.

The KUU-US Crisis Line Society:

• Crisis services for Indigenous Peoples in BC are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, toll-free throughout the province at 1 800 588-8717

• Alternatively, individuals can call directly into the Adult/Elders line at 250 723-4050 or the Children/Youth Line at 250 723-2040

• More information: www.kuu-uscrisisline.com

Métis Crisis Line:

• A service provided by Métis Nation British Columbia

• Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, toll-free across the province at 1 833 638-4722

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Charlene Belleau

Charlene Belleau has served in senior leadership and advocacy roles at the local, provincial, and national levels and helped lay the foundations for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, supporting the Commission’s mandate to document the history and legacy of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.

Belleau is a First Nations liaison, supporting caretaker communities in making connections with provincial and federal agencies, and serves as a critical communications link between communities searching former Indian Residential Schools and Indian Hospital sites and the province. Ms. Belleau is the former Chief of Esk’etemc First Nation and former chair of the First Nations Health Council.

‍ Honourable Spencer Chandra Herbert,  BC's minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

Spencer Chandra Herbert is a six-time MLA, first elected in 2008 for Vancouver-Burrard (now Vancouver-West End). Spencer was appointed Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in July 2025. He previously served as Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport. He was also honoured to serve as Deputy Speaker of the House in the last Parliament.

During his long political career, Spencer has advocated for wild salmon protection, environmental stewardship, human rights, and the rights of renters. Prior to becoming an MLA, Spencer was an award-winning artist and performing arts producer and served as an elected Vancouver Park Board Commissioner.