National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Today is Canada’s second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Bayshore is raising awareness about the ongoing impacts and intergenerational trauma of residential schools. From coast to coast to coast across Canada, today is a day for reflection, learning and healing.
We would like to start by acknowledging that our work takes place on land that is the home and traditional territory to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. Our head office in Mississauga, ON is covered by the Head of the Lake Purchase, Treaty No. 13a of 1805 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. We understand this land as the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as well as the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Wyandot, and Haudenosaunee peoples.
Today, we honour and remember all the children who survived residential schools and the lasting effects this painful experience has had on their lives, on their families and communities who lost loved ones during this tragic part of Canadian history. More than 150,000 children attended the 140 Indian Residential Schools that operated in Canada between 1831 and 1998. Unmarked mass graves with the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children continue to be found across the country near the former sites of residential schools.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day and Orange Shirt Day both take place on September 30. Orange Shirt Day was created in 2013 to honor the story of residential school survivor Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, who had her orange shirt taken away on her first day at residential school. The day September 30 represents the time of year children were taken from their homes and brought to residential schools.
As we begin our new fiscal year at Bayshore, we have an opportunity to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and set the stage for further discussion and action around anti-racism and violence prevention within our organization.
With more than 15,000 employees providing service to 350,000 clients annually across Canada, Bayshore takes pride in the diversity of our staff and the communities we serve. Since 1997, Bayshore’s Northern Nursing program has supported Indigenous communities in Canada’s remote areas and regions by providing high-quality community health care to everyone from newborns to seniors. Nurses, midwives, and other members of the team who take part in this program are provided with cultural sensitivity training.
As part of our equity, diversity and inclusion journey, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada outlines two specific actions relevant to Bayshore’s delivery of client care, including recognizing the value of Aboriginal healing practices (recommendation 22) and ensuring cultural competency training for all healthcare professionals (recommendation 23). Bayshore will continue to provide person-centred care planning by recognizing Aboriginal healing practices and other cultural health needs and incorporating them into care and treatment plans.
We know there is much work to be done and we look forward to continuing to learn from the legacy of residential schools and working towards truth and reconciliation with our Indigenous staff, patients, and communities.
Please join us in showing your support for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day by wearing an orange t-shirt and by taking some time today to learn more about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation:
Reconciliation Education: https://www.reconciliationeducation.ca/what-are-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-94-calls-to-action#:~:text=As%20of%20June%202021%2C%20only,TRC%27s%2094%20Calls%20to%20Action.
Streaming Indigenous programming: https://gem.cbc.ca/live/1954149443767
Phyllis (Jack) Webstad and Orange Shirt Day: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/
Respectfully,
Stuart Cottrelle
Bayshore President