OLDS — Council has declared Wednesday Sept. 30 as Orange Shirt Day in the community.
That proclamation was made during council’s Sept. 14 council meeting. This is the third year council has done so.
The purpose of the day is to highlight the negative impact that residential schools had on Indigenous and Inuit students and also to raise awareness of bullying and racism.
It was first commemorated in B.C. in the spring of 2013 and was sparked by a woman’s story about having her new orange shirt taken away during her firstday at a residential school.
“Initially this was part of our slowly getting toward some of the work we’re doing around welcoming and inclusive communities,” community services director Doug Wagstaff said. “This is just another step towards that.”
Mayor Michael Muzychka thanked council for bringing the proclamation forward.
“This is an excellent initiative in the town of Olds and fits exactly into our welcoming and inclusive community initiatives that we’re seeing all through administration and everything that we touch these days,” he said.
