We recognise that this news release may contain information that is difficult for many readers. The 24-hour safe and confidential National Residential School Crisis Line, available at 1-866-925-4419, provides crisis referral services to Survivors and their families and explains how to obtain other health supports from the Government of Canada.
The Hope for Wellness Help Line provides immediate, toll-free telephone and online chat-based emotional support and crisis intervention to all Indigenous people in Canada. Both telephone and online chat services are available 24/7 in English and French. Telephone support is also available upon request in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. Trained counsellors are available at 1-855-242-3310 or via hopeforwellness.ca.
September 30, 2026 - Ottawa, Ontario, Algonquin Traditional Territory, - Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Today, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis residential school Survivors gathered on Parliament Hill, on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg Algonquin People, to raise the Survivors' Flag in honour of Survivors and in memory of the children who never returned home.
Survivors, Elders, and representatives of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) were joined by leaders of national Indigenous organisations, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Louise Arbour, Governor General of Canada, and the Honourable Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.
The Residential School system forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families, communities, cultures, and identities. Children experienced profound harm, and the impacts of the Residential School system continue to affect Survivors, their families, and communities across generations.
The Survivors' Flag honours the children who never returned home and recognises the strength, courage, and resilience of Survivors. Its presence on Parliament Hill serves as a reminder of this painful history and of the responsibility to remember, listen, and act. Raising the Flag provides an opportunity for Canadians to listen to Survivors and learn from their truths.
Advancing truth and reconciliation is an ongoing collective responsibility, requiring continued action to recognise Indigenous rights, support self-determination, and transform the relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.
