Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Tofino with his family Thursday as Canadians marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, his office has confirmed.
Though Trudeau’s itinerary for Thursday initially stated he was in “private meetings” in Ottawa, it was later updated to note he was in Tofino.
“Yes, the PM is spending time in Tofino with family for a few days,” the prime minister’s spokesperson, Alex Wellstead, told CBC News in a statement.
“And, following his participation in last night’s ceremony marking the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, he is speaking today with residential school survivors from across the country.”
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was made a federal statutory holiday this year and will be marked annually on Sept. 30. The day honours the children who died while being forced to attend the church-run and government-funded residential schools as well as the survivors and Indigenous communities impacted by the system’s legacy.
More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children attended schools between the 1870s and 1997.
In 2015, Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended in its 94 calls to action that the federal government establish the holiday “to honour survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
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This report was initially posted by CBC News on September 30.
CBC News
