AUPE Media Release: Union thanks employers recognizing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
EDMONTON—The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) thanks employers across the province that will recognize the new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation tomorrow (Sept. 30).
The Government of Alberta refused to enact legislation that would make the holiday official throughout the province, and instead left it up to individual employers to decide whether to recognize the holiday. Although the government and many other employers, large and small, did not grant the holiday to its own staff, some employers are stepping up.
“Thank you to those who are honouring the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” says Bobby-Joe Borodey, AUPE Vice-President and Chair of the union’s Human Rights Committee. “Unions and employers don’t often agree on much, but we are happy to reach common ground with employers who take meaningful action in pursuit of truth and reconciliation.”
Borodey notes that the creation of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was a direct recommendation from the Truth and Reconciliation’s Commission’s Call to Action #80.
“This is a day for all of us to reflect on the injustices of the past and commit to reconciliation in the present,” she says. “We stand in solidarity with Indigenous sisters, brothers, and fellow workers within and beyond our Union.”
Employers recognizing the holiday with staff who are AUPE members includes:
Agecare Retirement Homes
Alberta Treasury Branch (ATB)
Athabasca University
Bow Valley College
Copper Sky Seniors Lodge
County of Northern Lights
Devonshire Care Centre
Grande Prairie Regional College, Fairview Campus
Optima Living Sweetgrass
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
Strathcona County
University of Calgary
University of Lethbridge
Vice-President Borodey is available for interviews.
Please contact Alexander Delorme, Communications Officer: 780-264-9274 or a.delorme@aupe.org
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