The Alberta Party celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day

June 21, 2018 (Edmonton) – The Alberta Party Caucus is marking the summer solstice by celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day. Alberta Party MLA Karen McPherson gave the following statement on behalf of caucus.

“Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day for us to reflect on our collective past and to refocus ourselves on the future.”

“In the era of Truth and Reconciliation and the Sixties Scoop, in a time when Indigenous women are six times more likely to be sexually assaulted than other women and many women are missing and unaccounted for, where a disproportionate number of children in foster care and inmates in our corrections system are FNMI, it is not enough to just recognize the progress we have made.”

“It is vitally important that we keep moving forward in healing the relationships between our Nations.”

“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission published 94 Calls to Action, some of which have already been addressed and some that will take more time. I urge everyone to take the time and read the Calls to Action, so that we are all starting from a place of common knowledge.”

“Our country is richer for our diversity but we cannot shy away from the impact our past has had. Today we celebrate the heritage of Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people and if we are to create a stronger, more resilient Canada we must take action to heal the wounds of the past. It’s the right thing to do.”