Today I joined the Assembly of First Nations and other MPs to recognize Orange Shirt Day - Every Child Matters. Here is the statement that my colleague Jean Crowder, MP for Nanaimo-Cowichan, made in the House of Commons on behalf of the NDP caucus: Mr. Speaker, today is Orange Shirt Day, in recognition of the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being. It is also intended as an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters, particularly children. Phyllis Webstad went to St. Joseph Mission residential school for only one year in 1973. She went away when she was six. Her loving grandmother bought her a new outfit, including a shiny orange shirt that Phyllis picked out for her first day of school. When Phyllis arrived at the residential school, she was stripped of her clothing and never saw that shirt again. In Phyllis’s own words: “I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me, it was mine! The color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.” Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity to talk about the effect of residential schools, about bullying and about racism. But it is not intended just as a look back – survivors want us all to look forward and use this day as an opportunity to create bridges to reconciliation. It is a small action to put on a shirt. The bigger one is to consider how we, as a country full of diverse peoples, can come together to create a better tomorrow for children.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:25:45 +0000
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