Manitoba government says it doesn't have consensus to make Orange Shirt Day a statutory holiday in 2023

The Manitoba government says it's still not prepared to make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a provincial statutory holiday this fall.

Premier Heather Stefanson says the province has been unable to find consensus for the second straight year among Indigenous groups and businesses on whether the day — also known as Orange Shirt Day — should be a statutory holiday. 

"In various consultation processes that have taken place, there isn't necessary agreement on what that day should look like, and so we want to make sure that unfolds, and we want Indigenous people having a say on what that will look like moving forward as well," she said to reporters on Tuesday morning.

"When it comes to businesses, we've heard loud and clear that they've been struggling, and we want to make sure that if they choose to close, they close on their own. We won't be looking at closing them down."

Stefanson said Manitoba is expected to maintain the "status quo," with Sept. 30 treated as a day of observance when non-essential government offices and schools will be closed.

Orange Shirt Day was established to remember experiences like that of Phyllis Webstad, whose grandmother's gift — an orange shirt — was taken away on Webstad's first day at a residential school.

More time needed: premier

The first Orange Shirt Day was in 2013; the federal government declared the same date National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021 and made it a statutory holiday for its workers and federally regulated workplaces. Some provinces and territories have followed suit.

In summer 2022, Stefanson said her government might come to a decision by the fall, but ultimately the province said it didn't want to rush the development of a new holiday. 

The province has decided again that more time is needed.

"If there's a way to remember the horrific atrocities of the past, that should be coming from Indigenous communities themselves and not from us as government," she said.

But Indigenous groups say they've been in agreement all along that Sept. 30 deserves to be a statutory holiday.

"I represent 62 First Nations as the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and we're very adamant and in consensus within the organization," Cathy Merrick said in an interview.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 First Nations in northern Manitoba, has made its support for the statutory holiday clear, Grand Chief Garrison Settee said.

"If the government of Manitoba can't demonstrate the understanding of our history by closing businesses and recognizing this as a statutory holiday, then it's clear that they just don't get it," Settee said in a statement. 

Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew said any opposition to marking the day as a holiday is secondary to the concerns of residential school survivors. The final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

"I don't think any of us should be arguing with the voice of survivors on this topic," Kinew said.

If the day eventually becomes a statutory holiday, Kinew said he's optimistic Manitobans would take the time to learn and reflect, rather than treating it as a day of leisure.

The NDP had previously pushed for a private members' bill to enact the statutory holiday.

Stefanson said the business community hasn't settled on how to mark the day either.

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard agreed. While some 70 per cent of Chamber members who participated in a survey last year favoured the idea of a statutory holiday, Remillard said they wanted to see "that it wasn't just going to be a day off, it was going to be a day for learning, reflection and growth, and that is why we need consensus."