KENORA DISTRICT MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION

SUBJECT: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 

SUBMITTED BY: Kenora District Municipal Association

YEAR: 2025
BACKGROUND: 
The Indian Residential School system operated across Canada for well over 100 years, with the last schools closing in the 1990s. Indian Residential Schools were created to separate Indigenous children from their families and communities, and to systematically strip away their traditions, cultural practices and languages.
More than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children from across the country were forced to attend Indian Residential Schools, which were often located far from their homes. Thousands never made it home.
Each year on the federally recognized National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we reflect and honour Survivors, their families and communities affected by the legacy of Indian Residential Schools.
RECOMMENDATION:
NOW THEREFORE MAY IT BE RESOLVED THAT the Kenora District Municipal Association urges the Province of Ontario to recognize September 30th as a public holiday for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to reflect and honour Survivors, their families and communities affected by the legacy of Indian Residential Schools.
COMMITTEE ACTION: Moved with concurrence.