Canada marks 4th National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
People marked the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at a ceremony in Ottawa, commemorating the long and tragic legacy of Canada's residential school system.
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CBC
17-03-2025
- CBC
Thunder Bay, Ont. business left in limbo after Hudson's Bay creditor protection filing
An Indigenous-led business in Thunder Bay, Ont. faces a significant financial hit after Hudson's Bay Company entered creditor protection last week. Hudson's Bay is delaying payments to nearly 2,000 secured and unsecured creditors as it struggles with nearly $1 billion in debt. Jason Thompson, owner of Superior Strategies Inc., says he is owed more than $80,000 by the 400-year-old Canadian retailer after supplying thermal printer rolls through his Warrior Office division. He was told multiple times that payment was forthcoming, but he now faces uncertainty as the company undergoes court-supervised restructuring. The financial strain has been immense for the Indigenous-owned business, which fronted $55,000 in supplier costs to fulfill the order. Thompson says he initially saw the deal as an opportunity for growth, especially given the timing of Hudson's Bay's first outreach on Sept. 30, 2023—National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. "I was assuming Hudson's Bay was doing some good things around reconciliation," he told CBC. "Being a smaller business, I [saw] this as an opportunity to grow." However, what started as a promising partnership has now turned into a financial headache. Thompson negotiated a 90-day payment term, reduced from Hudson's Bay's original request of 120 days. When payment failed to arrive at the end of January 2024, he began reaching out to the company. His inquiries were initially met with responses, including direct communication with Hudson's Bay CEO Liz Rodbell. A finance department representative assured him a payment plan was in place, with installments beginning in April. However, in the weeks leading up to March 7, when the first payment was expected, communication from Hudson's Bay went silent. Then, last week, the company announced it had filed for creditor protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), freezing payments to suppliers while it seeks financial restructuring. The retailer, which owes millions to vendors and landlords, admitted in court filings that it has fallen behind on payments and may close up to half of its 80 stores. Under the CCAA process, companies can restructure their debts, often leaving unsecured creditors—like small businesses—receiving only a fraction of what they are owed. Some experts estimate suppliers in retail insolvencies may receive less than 20 cents on the dollar if anything at all. Rodbell explained the company's decision to file for creditor protection in a company statement. "Earlier this year, we worked with potential investors to refinance a portion of our credit facilities to improve our liquidity and support our business plan. However, the threat and realization of a trade war has created significant market uncertainty and has impacted our ability to complete these transactions," she said. In a statement to CBC, Hudson's Bay said it was a difficult but necessary decision to seek creditor protection. "As part of the CCAA process, payments to creditors including vendors are stayed at this time," wrote Tiffany Bourré, the company's vice president of corporate communications. "The company is exploring strategic alternatives and engaging stakeholders to explore potential solutions to preserve and restructure its business." During the 17th to 19th century, the Hudson's Bay Company relied heavily on Indigenous peoples for fur trading, leading to economic dependence, disruption of traditional ways of life, and the displacement of many communities. Later, the company said they are committed to reconciliation and racial equity, including a $30 million commitment over 10 years to support Indigenous communities and address the impacts of the Indian residential school system. How should the Hudson's Bay Company reinvent itself? 9 days ago Duration 9:14 Canada's oldest retailer, which operates the Hudson's Bay department stores, announced it is seeking creditor protection on Friday, but that it intends to hold onto many of its prominent locations. Retail strategist David Ian Gray said scaling down and exploring their own product lines could be options for the ailing department store chain. But now, Thompson says the experience has made him question corporate commitments to Indigenous economic reconciliation. With Indigenous vendors left in financial limbo, he wonders what that commitment truly means. "The horrors and atrocities and the trials and tribulations for us Indigenous people are well documented. Yet, this is how [they're] going to continue to proceed without even entering into any dialogue with us," said Thompson. "Hudson Bay Company's been around for such a long time and it's a big part of the history of Canada. So I'm hoping that there will be an available plan of some sort. But I really hope that the focus is on ensuring that the small companies are looked after," he said.
Al Jazeera
07-02-2025
- Al Jazeera
‘Denying our truth'
While Indigenous communities have long known about deaths at residential schools and the existence of unmarked burial sites, for much of Canada's history, the residential school system was left unscrutinised. 'Canada normalized the disappearances, deaths and unmarked burials of Indigenous children for well over a century on a scale that is indefensible,' said Murray, the special interlocutor, in her final report (PDF) last year. Eva Jewell, the head of research at the Indigenous-led Yellowhead Institute, said the feeling of normalisation was prevalent even among residents of her community, the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in southwestern Ontario. Chippewas of the Thames was home to one of the country's first residential schools, Mount Elgin Industrial School. 'It was for a long time just kind of seen as what was necessary to happen to us, in order for us to fit in with this dominant society,' she told Al Jazeera of the residential school system. But that view began to change in the 1960s and 1970s, when former students started speaking out about their experiences with the advent of therapy, Jewell explained. Then, in the 1990s, groups of survivors filed lawsuits against the Canadian government to demand reparations for what they had endured, culminating in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement of 2006. The largest class-action settlement in Canada's history, the agreement ushered in what Jewell describes as 'the apology era'. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) – born out of the settlement agreement – was launched in 2007, and a year later, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologised for residential schools in the House of Commons. In 2015, after hearing from more than 6,500 witnesses – including survivors – over six years, the TRC said in its final report (PDF) that the residential school system 'was an integral part of a conscious policy of cultural genocide'. 'Children were abused, physically and sexually, and they died in the schools in numbers that would not have been tolerated in any school system anywhere in the country, or in the world,' it said. Just months after the TRC released its report, Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party won federal elections on a promise to make truth and reconciliation with Indigenous people one of its top priorities. 'We have to acknowledge the truth: Residential schools were a reality, a tragedy, that existed here in our country and we have to own up to it,' the prime minister said days after Tk'emlups te Secwepemc located the unmarked graves in Kamloops in 2021. That June, amid international and domestic outcry, the Trudeau government completed three of the TRC's 'Calls to Action', including the creation of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Yet Murray, the special interlocutor, said in her report that there has been 'systemic failure to document the historical and ongoing genocide of Indigenous Peoples within Canada, including the failure to educate Canadians about this aspect of Canada's national history'. This 'continues to create conditions where denialism can flourish', she warned. According to Jewell, the idea underpinning residential school denialism – 'that Indigenous peoples are in the first place unworthy of being sovereign peoples' – also remains firmly embedded in the fabric of Canada. 'We actually, historically speaking, have only had a very small window of time where there was an acceptance that residential schools were a harmful practice,' she told Al Jazeera. ' Reconciliation was never strong enough ... in the Canadian public consciousness for us to even be saying that denialism is on the rise. It was more like reconciliation was on the rise, and now it's fading out,' Jewell said. 'Canadians need to remember that. Reconciliation is not who they are. Denialism is who they are.'
CBC
07-02-2025
- CBC
Murray Harbour councillor takes case to P.E.I. Supreme Court
Social Sharing A Murray Harbour councillor who posted a controversial sign on his property brought his case to P.E.I. Supreme Court on Thursday. Coun. John Robertson was temporarily suspended and fined by the municipality nearly a year and a half ago after he posted the sign. Robertson is pushing for a judicial review of his case, arguing his right to freedom of expression was violated. "This is a really important case for the freedom of expression of every single Canadian," said Josh Dehaas, counsel with the Canadian Constitution Foundation and one of two lawyers representing Robertson. "Yes, it's a small village. Yes, it's a small village council. But freedom of expression matters," Dehaas said. Robertson posted on a sign on his property on the weekend upon which National Day for Truth and Reconciliation fell in 2023. The sign read, in part, "Truth: mass grave hoax." Indigenous leaders interpreted the sign as calling into question the existence of suspected gravesites at former residential school properties. The mayor of Murray Harbour, the Abegweit First Nation chief and some others called for Robertson to resign from his position as councillor. A third-party investigation concluded Robertson violated multiple sections of the council's code of conduct. Those sections say, among other things, councillors must uphold the highest standards of ethical behaviour and not engage in discrimination. Robertson's lawyers argue he didn't post the sign as part of his council duties, so the code of conduct doesn't apply. "The code of conduct can't control speech of this nature," said Dehaas. "This type of political speech, on a private sign, on private property, is not something bylaw can control." Robertson was suspended from council for six months, fined $500 and ordered to apologize. He refused and applied for a judicial review of his case. Under provincial rules, Robertson only had one month after he was sanctioned to apply for a judicial review. He did not apply for three months. Lawyers argued in court Thursday over whether the judge should use his discretion to grant an extension and still hear a case. Robertson's lawyers told the judge Robertson had problems connecting with a lawyer in time and had a medical issue, which added to the delay applying for a review. The municipality's lawyer, Meaghan Hughes, argued Robertson declined to participate in the initial investigation and that there was no good reason for the delay. "There are hundreds of lawyers in P.E.I.," Hughes said. "To have only called one of them and not broadened your search during that time frame is not sufficient." The hearing on Thursday was about whether the judicial review should go forward. The judge did not make a decision or say when he will. In the meantime, Robertson is back serving on council. He has not paid the fine or issued an apology. The P.E.I. government has also ordered an investigation into Robertson's conduct — though that's on hold until court proceedings wrap up.
