‘Move forward more seriously’ on reconciliation, PM urges provinces during Winnipeg stop

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This article was published 12/04/2023 (878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling on provincial governments to “move forward more seriously” on reconciliation efforts with Indigenous people.

Trudeau, who was in Winnipeg Wednesday, did not make reference to Premier Heather Stefanson’s decision, one day earlier, not to declare Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — also known as Orange Shirt Day — a statutory holiday in Manitoba.

“We certainly hope that the provinces would realize their responsibility in the path to reconciliation and take on the actions laid out in the (national commission’s) calls to action, but those obviously are decisions for the provinces to make,” he said while at the University of Manitoba to discuss tax credits and climate change with students.

“At the federal level, we believed that we needed to have a day of reconciliation, and that’s what we did with Orange Shirt Day.”

Sept. 30 is marked as a holiday for employees at federally regulated workplaces across the country. In Manitoba, only non-essential provincial government services and K-12 schools are closed.

A year after Stefanson said her Progressive Conservative government would consult with Indigenous leaders to determine Manitoba’s course of action, she announced Tuesday that further discussions are required.

She expressed concern about the effect creating an additional stat holiday would have on businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic.

Some provinces and territories, including British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Yukon observe Sept. 30 as a statutory holiday.

“There are some provinces that have done an extraordinary job,” Trudeau said. “There are some provinces that have not moved forward as quickly or strongly or as forcefully on the path of reconciliation as the federal government has, or as other provinces have.”

Manitoba’s labour-management review committee has recommended the day be declared a holiday similar to Remembrance Day, in which all non-essential businesses are closed and anyone who works is offered time-and-a-half pay.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick took issue with Stefanson’s reasoning, saying the organization had not been consulted and she regretted the provincial government’s “failure to actively engage in consultations with the First Nations.”

Manitoba Chambers of Commerce president and CEO Chuck Davidson said Tuesday his members did not oppose the holiday.

The prime minister later attended a town hall at the Manitoba Building Trades Institute in which he took questions from 60 trade workers and students.

Institute executive director Tanya Palson asked the prime minister what could be done to ensure Indigenous workers from remote or northern areas are able to find and keep work in or near their home communities.

“One thing that we keep coming up against is the ability to work near home for Indigenous youth… What I’m seeing is a disconnect between the requirements and opportunities for those in the training programs to actually work on community projects,” Palson said.

In response, Trudeau pointed to the success rate of training programs in B.C. that allow Indigenous construction workers to find jobs in their home communities.

“We’re not quite there yet. It’s going to take more work,” he said. “We’re trying to create opportunities, and a lot of it has to do with linking it up with the provinces. Some provinces are more keen on taking reconciliation seriously than others.”

He did not specifically refer to Manitoba.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca