On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, HealthCareCAN honours residential school survivors, the children who never returned home, their families and communities.  

Indian Residential Schools operated in Canada for well over 100 years. The schools separated Indigenous children from their families and communities, and forbid them from their language, culture, and traditions. We acknowledge the harms and intergenerational impact of the residential school system, colonization, and anti-Indigenous racism. 

HealthCareCAN members are committed to the journey of truth and reconciliation and providing culturally safe care to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, as called for in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s health-related Calls to Action.  

Some of the meaningful ways hospitals are seeking to rebuild relationships with the Indigenous communities they serve and embed Indigenous knowledge into care delivery include establishing Indigenous Patient Navigators and Indigenous Health Teams, and providing access to smudging ceremony and traditional medicines, traditional country foods, Elders, and inclusive healing spaces. 

Today, we ask you to join us in taking the time to reflect, listen to survivors’ voices, and learn.