National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation has so far only been declared a statutory holiday for the employees in the federal government and federally regulated workplaces in Canada. Although this has not yet been designated as an official statutory day for our sector, Pacific Coast Health Services recognizes the importance of officially honouring September 30th. Therefore, I am advising you that we will be closing the PCHS office and including this day in our STAT holiday list.

This day is intended to educate and remind Canadians about the history of residential schools, honour the victims and celebrate the survivors. Over the course of more than 100 years, some 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from their families and forced to attend church-run residential schools, where many suffered physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition and neglect. More than 4,000 are believed to have died. The date of September 30th is to mark Orange Shirt Day, an unofficial day that has been observed since 2013 in memory of a piece of clothing then-six-year-old Phyllis Webstad had taken from her on her first day at a residential school in 1973. Our government is calling on all of us who deliver services to the public to use this opportunity to consider what each of us can do as individuals to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and to recommit to understanding the truth of our shared history, to accept and learn from it and in doing so, help to create a better, more inclusive British Columbia. ~ Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation What does this means for PCHS? our office will be closed on the 30th

• clients have been advised that this is a STAT holiday

• staff (both in the office and in the field) will be paid STAT pay as per labour standards

• staff having to work on the 30th will be paid time and a half

Twyla Johnson RN BScN - Director of Operations