AMBM President Ivan Normandeau issued the following statement regarding the first ever National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2021:
Today, I invite the population of our bilingual municipalities to pay tribute to the missing children and all those who attended these residential schools, to their families, their descendants and their communities. To show them our support and compassion. To educate our communities about the devastating legacy of these institutions. To honour the courage and resilience of the thousands of survivors, their families and their descendants.
The Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM), Eco-West Canada (EWC) and many of Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities plan to explicitly recognize this important day. Many will close their municipal offices to the public (except for essential services) and fly their building flags at half-mast. Others will proclaim the new National Day of Truth and Reconciliation by resolution and promote it through their social networks.
I also invite the institutions in our territory, our community partners and more generally our Francophone and bilingual communities to recognize the Week of Truth and Reconciliation during which programming for the general public and schools is available through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). I strongly encourage you to actively participate in this rich programming and to visit the NCTR website by clicking here.
We all have a duty to remember. Let’s take a moment to review the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and to learn more about the 7 First Nations Treaties in our province.
The AMBM recognizes the treaties made with the First Nations and the negotiations with the Métis as Manitoba entered Canadian Confederation. As citizens of Manitoba and residents of Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities, we all have responsibilities under these treaties and must honour them.
Between 1888 and 1988, Manitoba had as many as 17 residential schools, according to the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, including in the AMBM territory, in St. Boniface, Winnipeg, Pine Falls and Birtle, near St. Lazare.
The Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM) is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 15 local governments committed to providing services in both official languages to their citizens. Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership is also at the helm of the AMBM Group, a consortium of three complementary organizations: the AMBM, the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM) and Eco-West Canada (EWC), which has specialized in the green economy since 2008. Complementary, these three organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs), including the French-speaking Métis.
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, [email protected].
