National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day
President’s Statement
On September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) honours First Nations, Inuit and Métis Survivors of residential schools; the women, girls and children who never returned home; and the families and communities that continue to experience the enduring impacts of colonial violence.
CASW reaffirms that reconciliation requires a sustained commitment to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the Calls for Justice issued by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the commitments set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Together, these frameworks call on governments and institutions to address the ongoing impacts of colonialism; uphold Indigenous rights, self-determination, and free, prior and informed consent; eliminate violence, racism, and discrimination; and ensure that First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples lead decisions affecting their communities.
Reconciliation is not symbolic. It requires accountability, resources, structural change, and sustained commitment to fulfilling the promises made by governments and institutions to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. Recently, denialism of colonial harms, including residential school atrocities, has gained momentum. CASW stands in solidarity with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in steadfastly rejecting false narratives that sidestep responsibility and further a white-supremacist agenda. CASW recognizes the harm these actions cause to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and that they perpetuate and sustain ongoing colonial violence in all its forms.
CASW encourages social workers and social work organizations to use September 30 as an opportunity for meaningful learning, reflection, and action. This commitment includes listening to Survivors and Indigenous communities; learning about the local Nations, histories, and treaties where we live and work; examining how colonialism continues to shape social-work systems and practice; supporting Indigenous-led initiatives; and advancing anti-racist, trauma-informed, culturally safe, and anti-oppressive practice throughout the year.
CASW remains committed to this work and to supporting a social-work profession that contributes to truth, healing, justice, and Indigenous self-determination. We must remember that Canada is strong because of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. Their ways of being and knowing must be fundamental to Canada's path forward.
Barb Whitenect, MSW, RSW
CASW President