Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Much of Canada will observe a second holiday this month.
On Sept. 30, federal offices, banks and post offices will be closed to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
"The idea is really to set aside a day that we honour all the children who survived residential schools, as well as honour and recognize those who did not return," Brenda Gunn, academic and research director at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, told CTV National News.
The new federal statutory holiday coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which was started in 2013 as a way to honour Indigenous children and educate Canadians about the impact the residential school system had on Indigenous communities.
Creating such a federal holiday was one of the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission back in 2015.
Many provinces and territories have followed the federal government's lead in marking in the day as a designated holiday and day off for students.
Private companies and organizations can decide if they want to honour optional or unofficial holidays, and provinces can also designate holidays.
However, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario have chosen not to recognize Sept. 30 as a statutory holiday. It's a decision some say is callous, but not unexpected.
"It kind of goes along with that 'get over it' attitude that many Canadians have, but we must never forget, or we end up repeating our mistakes." Robert Kakakaway, a residential school survivor, told CTV News. "It should not be a time of celebration, but a time of education."
Kakakaway spent six years at Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, where more than 700 unmarked graves were discovered in June.
Beyond the statutory holiday, work to recognize the damage done to Indigenous peoples through colonization continues. Dozens of First Nations have started searching for graves at former residential school sites, and across Canada more people are educating themselves to learn what reconciliation means.
“To our groups, reconciliation means, ‘How can I take action in my personal life and affect change within my own community?’,” explained Lori Abraham, Indigenous cultural program director at 1JustCity.
At the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where a suspected 215 graves were found in May, members of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation will play an honour song on Sept. 30. It will be played at 2:15 P.T., coinciding with the number of graves that "shocked the world," the First Nation said.
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.