Canada Post will launch an annual series next year as part of its “commitment to the principles of truth and reconciliation,” according to a statement from the Crown corporation.
A stamp will be issued each year in conjunction with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new federal day of commemoration held – for the first time this year – on Sept. 30 to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. The new annual issue, for which Canada Post’s Stamp Advisory Committee will work with Indigenous experts, will help raise awareness about Indigenous truth and reconciliation and “support a spirit of healing,” the Crown corporation’s statement added.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, a national movement launched in 2013 to honour the more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children who were sent to residential schools.
“Canada Post has a long history of sharing important Canadian stories through its stamp program. As a national storyteller and a public institution in virtually every community across Canada, we are committed to supporting the principles of truth and reconciliation,” says Doug Ettinger, the Crown corporation’s president and CEO. “As a country, it is part of our collective duty to acknowledge and honour the experiences of Indigenous peoples and to move forward together, in a spirit of healing. We hope this annual stamp series can help facilitate that.”
The new series is one of several initiatives Canada Post will launch to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
On Sept. 29-30, Canada Post employees are invited to wear orange shirts to work.
Beginning next year, the Canada Post Community Foundation will award an annual “signature grant” of $50,000 to a national organization offering programming anchored in the principles of truth and reconciliation and supporting Indigenous children and youth across the country. This year, the foundation awarded 17 grants, totalling about $270,000, to programs supporting Indigenous youth.
Most of Canada Post’s operations, including all corporate post offices, will be closed on Sept. 30 to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
From Sept. 24-30, Canada Post’s Ottawa headquarters is being illuminated with orange light to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Last November 2020, the Crown corporation also launched its Indigenous and Northern Reconciliation Strategy.