The Ontario government will not be making National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a provincial holiday, a government spokesperson confirmed.
Legislation passed by the federal government in June recognized Sept. 30 as a federal statutory holiday, making it a paid day off for federal workers and employees in federally regulated workplaces.
Curtis Lindsay, press secretary for Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford, confirmed in an email to CBC Toronto Thursday morning that the day will not be a holiday for the province.
“Ontario is working in collaboration with Indigenous partners, survivors and affected families to ensure the respectful commemoration of this day within the province, similar to Remembrance Day,” Lindsay said.
“While the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not a provincial public holiday this year, employers and employees may agree to treat this day as such, and some may be required to do so if it has been negotiated into collective agreements or employment contracts,” he said.
The holiday was one of the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — meant to honour Canada’s residential school survivors, their families and communities and to publicly commemorate the history and ongoing legacy of the schools.