The Town of Innisfil raised the Every Child Matters flag for the month of September on Thursday in honour of the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. The flag will be lowered to half-staff on Sept. 30 for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
“I want to reflect on why we’re here,” said Mayor Lynn Dollin. “We’re here to acknowledge the tragedy of residential schools in our country. We understand that reconciliation isn’t possible without truth, and we must not turn away from the truth. We’re here to participate, listen, and support Indigenous community members who are still reeling from the multi-generational trauma of residential schools. We must own that history and not erase the past, but ensure we’re working toward a more just and compassionate present and future.”
Dollin was joined by members of council and Matthew and Ashley Bergman of the Indigenous Action Committee, a not-for-profit organization that works with municipalities to support the Indigenous community.
“Actions speak louder than words, today we raise this flag in Innisfil to show respect to all First Nations people, my people, in our month of Truth and Reconciliation,” said Matthew Bergman. “This isn’t just for the month of September, Truth and Reconciliation is an ongoing process that requires consistent attention and effort.
“It’s easy to raise a flag, and it’s a step in the right direction, but what is really needed is action. Actions that affect the Indigenous community in a positive way and bring back a sense of respect and pride to our community. Raising the flag creates a conversation, but that conversation needs to continue after it’s over. The responsibility falls on everyone to do their part to make reconciliation a reality.”
Matthew Bergman highlighted the clean drinking water problem for Indigenous communities that needs to be resolved as part of the healing process.
“Indigenous people have lived on these lands for over 14,000 years, it’s time to give them the proper respect and consideration they deserve. It’s time to take action, it’s time to provide adequate services to the community, as well as clean drinking water. We think in a country as rich as Canada, we wouldn’t have issues like this.
“Less than one hour from where you’re all standing, there’s a reserve on Georgina Island that’s still boiling their water. That’s one of the over 20 communities just in Ontario that is still living with this issue. This to me is inhumane, part of reconciliation is fixing this issue. It’s an issue of basic human rights, everyone should be able to access clean drinking water. Imagine your children having to bath in poison.”
The lack of resources and services in municipalities for the Indigenous community is something else Matthew Bergman says must change.
“In order to have any sort of events, resources, or celebrations in the community, my sister and I had to create our own not-for-profit organization so these things could happen,” he said. “As well, if there’s no reserve in a community, Indigenous people are displaced. We create our not-for-profit to connect the community and to make others feel like they’re not the only one. We took action.”
Ashley Bergman and her daughter Emma performed both a smudging ceremony and the song Strong Woman for those in attendance at the flag raising.
“We’ve been given a strong voice for a reason, and we use it every chance we get to educate, to teach and to bring people together to move forward in a better way,” said Ashley Bergman. “We lost our culture for years but we’re slowly getting it back, one teaching and one ceremony at a time.”
