The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is Canada's most important National Day.
I don't know if younger people can realize how much our relationships between settlers and Indigenous people have improved over the last four decades. I think it really began with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, continuing to Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2008 to 2015, including along the way significant economic development, decisive court cases, increased academic study, art and music,action in political leadership, deeper understanding of land acknowledgements and treaty rights, all framed with apology for past racism, increasing mutual respect and willingness to work together on issues.
Yes, there have been grim setbacks and awful incidents in these years, but overall I believe the arc of Canada's moral universe is bending toward justice. And unlike what is happening now in the United States now, I don't believe we will ever break bad.
This National Day - our sixth one this year- reminds us we need to listen, learn and grow in understanding of what happened in our past and how it shapes our future. Understanding truth and working for reconciliation is our Canadian journey.