Labour Council calls on MP Rota to enact all 94 TRC recommendations at rally

The North Bay and District Labour Council will host a rally at MP Rota’s office at 4PM on Thursday, September 30, Canada’s first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, to call on the new federal government to recommit to reconciliation and to make it a priority as they plan their new mandate.

Unions are gaining awareness of the TRC’s 94 recommendations and students of all ages are learning about the horrors of the residential school system. It stands to reason that communities will keep pushing elected officials to prioritize funding and dismantle the systems that continue to perpetuate longstanding injustices.

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“Even though MP Rota got re-elected recently, it doesn’t mean that he and the Liberal Government can’t do better when it comes to reconciliation, especially the TRC calls to action 71 through 76 on Missing Children and Burial Information,” said Henri Giroux, North Bay and District Labour Council President.

“We’re asking MP Rota to seriously consider the Liberal Government’s record, and to make a plan to enact all TRC recommendations as soon as possible,” said Giroux.

Canada’s residential school system is estimated to have violently uprooted and impacted the lives of at least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, and its multi-generational impacts are still deeply felt across Indigenous communities to this day.

Several Labour Council members also attended the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre’s TRC Day held earlier in the day. Members attended to listen and learn from Indigenous leaders about how to amplify supportive messages.