Truth and Reconciliation Day a show of support but Indigenous community 'not seeing it in places that matter': MLA

People take part in the Orange Shirt Day run and walk event activities on Sept. 30, 2024, at Edmonton's Kinsmen Park. (Adel Ahmed/CTV News Edmonton)

A pair of city events held on Monday, among several others in the region, helped residents mark the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

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The City of Edmonton hosted a symposium Monday morning at downtown's MacEwan University featuring Indigenous speakers. It created space to recognize experiences and for reflection on the importance of truth and reconciliation.

The symposium was followed in the afternoon by the Orange Shirt Day Run and Walk at Kinsmen Park on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River next to the Walterdale Bridge, where people gathered to honour and support Indigenous lives and communities affected by residential school experiences.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was created in response to Call to Action No. 80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, which called for a statutory holiday to honour survivors, their families, and communities while ensuring the legacy of residential schools is recognized.

Brooks Arcand-Paul, the MLA for Edmonton-West Henday, a member of the Alexander First Nation, said Monday at the event at Kinsmen Park while events such as the ones held Monday help Indigenous people "acknowledge and recognize the pain that we're still feeling," there's still much work to do towards healing and moving forward.

"Events like this help us get together and help non-Indigenous people show their support with Indigenous communities, but we are still facing the worst of the worst," Arcand-Paul, also the provincial shadow minister for Indigenous relations, told CTV News Edmonton.

"We are still overrepresented in the child welfare system, in prisons. We are still facing the worst social determinants of health, and governments aren't doing anything about it. They're not doing enough about it to help our people. Although it's great to see a lot of support, we're not seeing it in the places that matter."

The city marked also National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by lighting several landmarks orange, lowering flags at city hall to half-mast and displaying the Survivors’ Flag.

Other events staged in the Edmonton area to commemorate the day included the Alberta legislature hosting speakers, programming at the Telus World of Science, the Alberta Aviation Museum and Fort Edmonton Park, and gatherings in St. Albert, Stony Plain, Devon and Smoky Lake/Metis Crossing. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Adel Ahmed