Truth and Reconciliation

Sep 29, 2026

September 30 is both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Together, they call on us to remember, to learn and to consider what reconciliation requires of us today.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home from residential schools, the Survivors, and the families and communities who continue to live with their impacts. Orange Shirt Day grew from the experience of Phyllis Webstad, whose new orange shirt was taken from her when she entered residential school as a child. Her story has become a powerful reminder that every child matters and that every person is entitled to dignity, identity, culture and belonging.

These are fundamentally human rights principles.

The residential school system denied Indigenous children and families these rights through policies intended to separate children from their families, communities, languages and cultures. Its harms did not end when the schools closed. Reconciliation therefore requires more than remembering what happened. It requires us to understand how the past continues to shape the experiences of Indigenous people and to confront the discrimination and barriers that persist today.

Here in Mi’kma’ki, we have a particular responsibility to understand the history and continuing presence of the Mi’kmaq, the Peace and Friendship Treaties, and the rights that flow from them.

Human rights and reconciliation share a commitment to dignity, equality and justice. Protecting those rights requires listening to Indigenous voices, learning from truths that were denied for too long, and translating that understanding into meaningful action.

As we mark September 30 and prepare to enter Mi’kmaq History Month, I encourage Nova Scotians to take time to listen, learn and reflect on the role each of us can play in advancing reconciliation.

Reconciliation is not the work of a single day. It is an enduring responsibility, and one that is inseparable from our collective commitment to human rights.

The preceding is a message from Joseph Fraser, Director and CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

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