On September 30th, we mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Here in the Yukon, the legacy of residential schools is not distant history. Children were taken from their families and communities to residential schools and residences across the territory: Chooutla in Carcross; the Whitehorse Baptist Mission; Yukon Hall and Coudert Hall in Whitehorse; St. Paul's Hostel in Dawson; and Shingle Point on the Arctic coast. Many Yukon children were also sent to Lower Post, just across the B.C. border. Survivors, their families, and their descendants are our neighbours, our friends, and our fellow Union Members.

The Yukon Employees' Union (YEU) recognizes that we live and work on the traditional territories of the Yukon's 14 First Nations. We also recognize that the Labour movement must play a meaningful role in advancing reconciliation.

For YEU, reconciliation is not only something we ask of governments. It is work we must do ourselves. That means listening to Indigenous members, learning from them, and acting on what we hear. It means making our union a place where Indigenous members are respected, represented, and heard, at the bargaining table, in our workplaces, and in our own leadership.

YEU reaffirms its support for the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. More than a decade after the Commission released them, much of that work remains unfinished.

We encourage members to wear orange and take time to learn and reflect. And we ask everyone to carry that commitment beyond one day.

Every child matters.