09/30/2026
Orange Shirt Day - How One Story Can Make a Difference
Today, September 30, marks Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A day to honour the Survivors of residential schools, remember the children who never returned home, and recognize the lasting impacts the residential school system has had on Indigenous families and communities across Canada.
This day has a particularly meaningful connection for me this year.
In June, I had the opportunity to hear Phyllis Webstad speak at a graduation ceremony and tell the story that became the inspiration for Orange Shirt Day. Hearing that story directly from Phyllis was a powerful reminder of how one person's experience, and their willingness to share it, can grow into something that reaches an entire country.
Phyllis was six years old when she attended St. Joseph Mission Residential School in British Columbia in 1973. Her grandmother had bought her a bright new orange shirt for her first day of school. When she arrived, the shirt was taken away from her along with the rest of her clothing. She never got it back. That experience, and the feeling that her identity and belongings did not matter, eventually became the foundation of the Every Child Matters message.
In 2013, Phyllis's story helped inspire the first Orange Shirt Day. What began with one story and a community gathering continued to grow across British Columbia and Canada. Eight years later, in 2021, September 30 became Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday created in response to Call to Action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Looking at where Orange Shirt Day is today, 13 years after that first observance, is an important reminder of what can happen when people are willing to tell their stories and when others are willing to listen.
The residential school system operated for generations and removed more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children from their families and communities. Children were separated from their cultures, languages and traditions, and many experienced neglect and abuse. The effects did not end when the schools closed; they continue to affect Survivors, families and communities today.
That is part of why September 30 is about more than simply having a day off or wearing an orange shirt. It is an opportunity to listen, learn and remember. It is a chance to better understand Canada's history and to recognize that reconciliation requires continued education, respect and action.
At Gabriola Fire, we have lowered our flags to half-mast today in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and in honour of the children who never returned home, the Survivors, their families and their communities. Across Canada, the National Flag is also being flown at half-mast at federal government buildings from sunrise to sunset on September 30.
For me, having the opportunity to hear Phyllis speak this year brought the meaning behind the orange shirt back to something very simple and very human. Before there was a national movement, before there was a federal holiday and before orange shirts were worn across the country, there was the experience of a six-year-old girl whose new orange shirt was taken away.
She told that story.
People listened.
And that story helped start a conversation that continues across Canada today.
Every Child Matters.
Acting Chief Ovens
