NDP shifts into high gear to get Orange Shirt Day bill passed

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This article was published 04/12/2023 (668 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba lawmakers on Monday fast-tracked a bill to make Orange Shirt Day a statutory holiday.

Bill 4 — the Employment Standards Code Amendment and Interpretation Amendment Act (Orange Shirt Day), passed second reading Monday afternoon and was called to committee for public input in the evening.

It didn’t give presenters much notice to weigh in on the proposed legislation that must be heard at committee before it passes into law.

The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce wasn’t aware of the bill being called to committee Monday afternoon and hadn’t registered to speak to it later in the day, president and chief executive officer Loren Remillard said.

“If we were, we would have repeated what we’ve been saying consistently,” Remillard said in an email Monday afternoon.

“We support the day. We have and continue to recommend it be structured in a way that puts focus on learning and growth in place of just another day off,” he said.

Premier Wab Kinew said making Orange Shirt Day a statutory holiday in Manitoba fulfils one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action to establish a stat to honour survivors, their families and communities, “and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”

The federal government in 2021 declared Sept. 30 the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and declared it a statutory holiday for federal employees. In Manitoba, the Tory government at the time chose not to declare the day a provincial stat but gave non-essential provincial employees the day off and closed K-12 schools.

“It’s really important that this be a statutory holiday at the provincial level,” Kinew said in the chamber.

He said doing so ensures that every child and their family will be able to fully participate in Orange Shirt Day no matter where their parents work.

“I do think it takes another step toward articulating the vision that every child matters,” the premier said.

The Progressive Conservatives, while in government, said more consultation was needed.

On Monday, in opposition, the PCs supported the bill and Manitoba creating a statutory holiday dedicated to reconciliation.

“That would be our hope — that it really becomes a day where people take the opportunity to reflect on some of the lessons that need to be learned so that history doesn’t repeat itself,” PC deputy opposition leader Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach) told the house.

Bill 4 (Orange Shirt Day) is one of three bills the NDP government was intent on passing before the house rises Thursday for the winter recess. It and Bill 2 — the Louis Riel Act, were both open for public input at committee meetings Monday night.

Bill 3 — The Fuel Tax Amendment Act (Fuel Tax Holiday) suspending the 14-cents-per-litre provincial gas tax effective Jan. 1 has already been to committee and amended. The gas tax break has been broadened to include off-road vehicles and extended to dyed gasoline that’s used in farm machinery and sold at a discount.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca