The Greater Toronto Area marked the fifth annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation Tuesday in a variety of ways Tuesday, including flag raising, sunrise and drumming ceremonies. The day commemorates the lives lost to Canada's government-funded, church-run residential school system and honours the survivors and communities affected by ongoing trauma. In a news release Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation Greg Rickford said government buildings across the province would be lit orange.
The longest-running and largest residential school in Canada had an estimated 15,000 children attend before closing down in 1970. Today, on the country's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the building is reopening as a historic site and museum to share the stories of survivors. Also, the UN mission in Kabul is urging the Taliban to reverse its shutdown of the internet and other telecommunications across Afghanistan.
The former Mohawk Institute the longest-running residential school in Canada is now named the Woodland Cultural Centre and is preparing to open to the public for the first time as a museum on Sept. 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. WATCH | Canada's longest-running residential school to reopen as a museum: Canada's longest running residential school, known as the Mohawk Institute, has reopened as a museum at Ontario's Woodland Cultural Centre