OPP Association staff wear orange in honour of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2021.
The OPPA is flying a Every Child Matters flag at our Head Office and all flags are at half staff.

The OPP Association Head Office will be closed September 30, 2021 to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and membership of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, we wish to acknowledge the harm caused by the residential school system in Canada, and commit to honouring the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities.

We believe that the commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

We urge all our members and the public to wear orange on September 30th for what was and still is “Orange Shirt Day” and now is rightfully so the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day that honours the children who survived Indian Residential Schools and remembers those who did not. This history of this day relates to the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, on her first day of school, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which was taken from her. It is now a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

We recognize that this day will carry sorrow and grief for many. We encourage former Residential School students to call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports.

Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat.

For our own OPP Association members, the Encompas Mental Wellness Program is available 24/7 by calling 1-866-794-9117 or visiting online at EncompasCare.ca. 

We encourage our members and the public to review the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, specifically the “Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action“. One of the Calls To Action was designating September 30th as the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Please consider any actions that you and we can take to move forward in unity together. 

Meegwetch.
Rob Stinson
President, Ontario Provincial Police Association