[ September 6, 2022] As students across Manitoba return to school this week, I wish to recognize parents, grandparents and families of residential and day school Survivors and victims, and to bring awareness of the hardship brought by the start of the school year each September.
This time of year coincides with when children were removed from their families and taken to residential schools. This anniversary brings up many difficult memories for parents, grandparents and families every year. I encourage all Manitobans to take time today to reflect on the impacts of the residential and day school system, to consider what it was like to be a parent and have your child taken, or to have your sibling taken away to a residential school. These events have long-standing impacts.
As we move closer to Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, our government honours the resilience of residential and day school Survivors and acknowledges the ongoing impacts on parents, grandparents and families. Recognizing and responding to the legacy of residential and day schools, including the intergenerational effects on families, is a vital element to advancing reconciliation in Manitoba and across the country.
This release contains information that may be distressing for some readers. Information regarding Indian Residential School Supports is available on the Manitoba Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations’ website at www.gov.mb.ca/inr/irs/index.html.
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