This enactment establishes September 30 in each and every year as Orange Shirt Day: A Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Preamble

Whereas the Parliament of Canada recognizes the pain and suffering inflicted on Indigenous children through the residential school system;

Whereas Indigenous children were removed from their homes around September 30 each year;

Whereas residential school survivor Phyllis (Jack) Webstad attended the St. Joseph Mission Indian Residential School in Williams Lake, British Columbia, and, at six years old, had her orange shirt forcibly removed;

Whereas designating the thirtieth day of September as Orange Shirt Day: A Day for Truth and Reconciliation would provide Canadians with an opportunity to remember residential school survivors — and those who did not survive;

Whereas such a day would also encourage Canadians to reflect on the impact on Indigenous children of their removal from their families and their communities;

Whereas this removal was intended to assimilate Indigenous children into colonial culture by having their clothing, language and contact with family members taken from them;

Whereas it is necessary to educate future generations about the importance of respect, empathy, and the role that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians must play in reconciliation;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: