Truth Has to Come First: Peterborough Raises Every Child Matters Flag on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

By Scott Arnold

Peterborough raised the Every Child Matters flag on Wednesday, September 30th, as local leaders called on the community to remember the children who never came home from residential schools and recognize that reconciliation cannot be limited to one day each year.

Peterborough County OPP Detachment Commander Chris Galeazza, Hiawatha First Nation Chief Laurie Carr, Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark, Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal and Selwyn Township Mayor Ron Black gather at the Peterborough County Courthouse on September 30th for the raising of the Every Child Matters flag on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

There was a heaviness to the ceremony at the Peterborough County Courthouse.

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour residential school Survivors, the children who never returned home, their families and communities, while recognizing the ongoing impacts of the residential school system.

But as the Every Child Matters flag was raised Wednesday afternoon, the message from those gathered was clear: this is not a celebration.

It is a day to remember.

And, perhaps most importantly, it is a day to listen.

Chief Laurie Carr of Hiawatha First Nation told those gathered that before the children taken to residential schools were numbers or names in government records, they were children.

“They were someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's grandchild, someone's brother or sister,” Carr said. “They were loved.”

“They had families, languages, cultures, dreams, and futures that should never have been taken from them.”

Carr said she carries a responsibility as a mother, grandmother, auntie, cousin and Chief to honour those children, stand with Survivors and stand with the families and communities that continue to carry the pain of those losses.

But she also stressed that reconciliation is a responsibility shared by everyone.

“It begins with the truth,” she said. “And the truth is painful. The truth is ugly.”

Canada's residential school system was part of a colonial policy of assimilation that removed Indigenous children from their families and communities and sought to separate them from their languages, cultures and identities. The federal government recognizes that the effects of that system continue to be felt today.

For Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark, that truth is difficult to comprehend.

In an interview following the ceremony, Clark became emotional while talking about the children who were taken from their homes.

“If any of us as parents had our children removed and never seen them again, how could you not just be changed?” she said.

“It's just about sharing that history and I just cannot fathom how taking a child away from their home, their family, it's just unimaginable.”

Clark said the annual flag raising has become about more than a ceremony.

Since she became Warden, the County has invited the Mayor, the Chiefs of the area's two First Nations communities and the OPP detachment commander to take part.

“To me, it's about establishing relationships,” Clark said. “We can't change the past, but we have to acknowledge that and move forward.”

She said the growing attendance at these events is encouraging because it reflects a greater recognition of what happened to Indigenous peoples.

“You have to know the truth,” Clark said. “And certainly I would say you have to know the truth and you have to own it.”

'The Truth Is Harder'

That idea of truth was also at the centre of Inspector Chris Galeazza's remarks.

The Peterborough County OPP Detachment Commander spoke about an observation made following a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event he co-hosted in Hiawatha last year.

The feedback was that there had been a lot of discussion about reconciliation, but not enough about truth.

Galeazza said he has reflected on that ever since.

“One of the conclusions that I arrived at is that reconciliation is an easier conversation,” he said. “It allows us to talk about partnerships, relationships and where we want to go.”

“The truth is harder.”

Galeazza said truth requires people to honestly consider where they are and where they have been, acknowledging that his own perspective as a settler and someone with privilege can affect what he sees.

He pointed to the continuing overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canada's criminal justice system as an example of why the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings cannot simply be treated as history.

Galeazza noted that Government of Canada data shows Indigenous people make up about 5 per cent of Canada's population, yet represented approximately 33 per cent of those in federal custody. He also noted that Indigenous women account for about half of all federally incarcerated women.

“These are not just statistics,” he said. “They are reminders that the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are not confined to history books. They continue to be reflected in the experiences of Indigenous peoples today.”

He also shared a personal experience involving an institutional failure that affected his own family, while making clear that he was not comparing his family's experience to the profound harms experienced by Indigenous peoples through residential schools.

What the experience taught him, he said, was that institutions can fail the people they are supposed to serve and that when those failures go unacknowledged, the harm can continue.

“Truth requires us to acknowledge those realities, even when they are uncomfortable,” Galeazza said.

He described his commitment moving forward as being willing to remain uncomfortable in the search for truth and to continue being an ally.

“Reconciliation is not a destination where we can simply choose to arrive at,” he said. “It begins with the truth. It begins with listening.”

'Every Opportunity I Speak With Chief Carr, I Learn Something New'

For Mayor Jeff Leal, Wednesday's ceremony carried an added significance.

Leal has announced that he will not seek re-election, meaning this was his final National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in his public capacity as Mayor.

He reflected on the opportunity he has had over the years to share a platform with Chief Carr and Warden Clark.

He also pointed to a permanent memorial of shoes at Peterborough City Hall, created during his time as Mayor with the City's Indigenous advisor Shelley Knott.

The memorial is intended to provide a daily reminder of the children who never came home.

During his remarks, Leal also spoke about a story shared earlier Wednesday at the Healthy Planet Arena about a residential school Survivor who became known simply as “Number 47.”

“Arrived at a residential school. Stripped of their identity. Stripped of their culture. Stripped of their language. And just became sort of a nonentity” Leal said.

“Just virtually became Number 47.”

In an interview with PTBOCanada, Leal said Canadians need to hear stories like that.

“We won't come to grips with a very dark part of Canadian history unless we hear those stories, unless we comprehend those stories, to make sure that this kind of thing never, ever happens again,” he said.

Leal said he has been a friend of Chief Carr for many years and that every opportunity to share a podium with her has been an opportunity to learn.

“Every opportunity I hear Chief Carr speak, I learn something new,” he said.

'It Has to Go Year Round'

Carr said she sees the growth of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation events across the country and, particularly, here in the Peterborough area.

She said the local community has increasingly seen municipalities and organizations create opportunities for Indigenous voices to be heard and for people to learn.

But she stressed that the work cannot stop when September 30th ends.

“It's talk about it, learn about it,” Carr said in her interview with PTBOCanada. “There's some amazing books out there. Read about the history.”

She encouraged people to share what they learn with their children, families and friends, wear orange and connect with First Nations communities to find ways to support future events and reconciliation work.

“It's important to send those good messages and the truth,” Carr said. “The truth is always important to share for people to learn.”

She also spoke about the emotions that come with a day like this.

Her mornings begin with prayer and thought, she said, along with gratitude that her community remains strong and resilient and is relearning its culture and language.

But there is sadness too.

“And sometimes there is that anger that comes,” Carr said. “It's like, why is this still happening? It's 2026. Why do we still have to have that reality face us?”

Carr said the answer cannot simply be another ceremony next year.

“Reconciliation cannot be something we speak about once a year,” she told those gathered.

“It must be something we live in schools, workplaces, health care systems, institutions and in our communities.”

Because, she said, reconciliation requires more than words.

“It requires action.”

Every Child Matters

As the Every Child Matters flag was raised outside the County Courthouse, the ceremony brought together municipal leaders, Indigenous leadership, police and members of the community.

Warden Clark said the County's commitment is about continuing to build relationships and trust.

Carr said it is about continuing to tell the truth, listening to Survivors and standing against racism and hate.

Leal said it is about remembering.

And Galeazza said it is about being willing to listen even when the truth is uncomfortable.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 80 and was first observed nationally in 2021. September 30th also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led initiative focused on the ongoing impacts of residential schools and the message that Every Child Matters.

But the words spoken in Peterborough on Wednesday made clear that the meaning of the day extends far beyond a flag, an orange shirt or a date on the calendar.

It is about the children who were taken.

The families who lost them.

The Survivors who continue to carry what happened.

The cultures, languages and identities that were attacked.

And the responsibility of everyone else to listen, learn and act.

As Carr said at the end of her remarks:

“We will remember, we will honour, we will speak truth, we will continue forward together, and we will stand together against hate and racism because every child matters.”

Scott Arnold is a Journalist and Content Creator at PTBOCanada Media Inc

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