‘Scars don’t heal overnight’: Trudeau pledges to work ‘together’ towards reconciliation

Trudeau's speech and earlier attendance of a sunrise ceremony marks the first time he has participated in public events on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Standing on a stage with an orange shirt tucked under his blazer, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated a promise to Indigenous people: Canada will be by their side as the country works to rebuild trust.

His comments Friday came on the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a somber national holiday established last year to acknowledge the legacy of the residential school system in Canada.

Until 1997, the residential school system saw Indigenous children ripped from their homes and families, only to have them placed in facilities where they were scolded for speaking their language and, in many cases, abused.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. In the last year, over a thousand unmarked graves have been found at residential school sites across the country.

“Scars don’t heal overnight and trust can take a long time to rebuild,” Trudeau said.

“But we will be there together every step of the way.”

Sept. 30 is a day to “grieve,” the prime minister said, and to “take another step” in healing. But, he added, it’s also a day where non-Indigenous peoples must recognize that First Nations, Metis and Inuit “should not have to carry this burden alone.”

“How many times do Indigenous peoples need to tell their stories of trauma, of loss, of pain, of grief, until we absorb those stories as non-Indigenous people and make them our own?” Trudeau asked.