B.C. premier advises against cancelling Canada Day festivities
A day after Victoria cancelled its Canada Day celebrations, B.C. Premier John Horgan says he does not want other cities to follow suit.
“The intent, I can understand,” says Horgan. “The 21st of June, National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, would be a more appropriate time for us to collectively focus on how we can redress the wrongs of the past, and build a brighter future together.”
Victoria city council voted unanimously this week to abandon virtual Canada Day festivities, following the discovery of children's bodies on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops. Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says local indigenous groups have since pulled out of participating in this year’s Canada Day events.
“Right now, the Lekwungen nations are grieving, so it’s very difficult for them to come and sing and dance and celebrate," Helps told reporters.
CTV News has reached out to multiple cities across Metro Vancouver to see whether their Canada Day plans will be cancelled or modified in any way. So far, the City of Surrey has replied, saying their virtual event will go ahead as planned. Details of the event could not be offered yet, but a spokesperson says they’ve planned the event with the help of a First Nations consultant and this year’s headliner will be Indigenous.
The Port of Vancouver operates the large-scale annual Canada Day celebration at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver, and says it will have an update on this year’s event soon.
“Following the devastating discovery of the remains of more than 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School, we are reviewing our July 1 programming to determine the best way forward,” the Port of Vancouver says in an emailed statement to CTV News.
“I don’t believe we’re at a part where we can be celebrating,” explains Dakota Bear, a Vancouver-based Indigenous rights activist with Idle No More, a group promoting the #CancelCanadaDay campaign on social media.
Bear is helping arrange multiple rallies across the country for July 1, including in downtown Vancouver. The aim is to highlight injustice and inequality faced by Canada’s Indigenous communities, rather than marking confederation.
“We’re going through so much. We don’t have proper infrastructure for water, missing and murdered women and girls, the lack of proper shelter in our communities.”
But as chatter of cancelling Canada Day continues online, it’s not a sentiment held by all Indigenous peoples. Liberal MLA Ellis Ross shared his thoughts on Twitter, saying “Don’t cancel Canada Day. Can you imagine how significant it would be for First Nations and non-First Nations to be together on this day? We need this as part of our collective healing.”
Musqueam Indian Band member Wade Grant echoes those sentiments, saying “Cancelling Canada Day will further divide us. Let’s use the day to educate about the mistakes of the past and commit to making Canada better.”
Back in Victoria, council plans to collaborate with local indigenous groups later in the summer to produce a one-hour broadcast on what it means to be Canadian.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
BREAKING 15-year-old boy stabbed Thursday in Nepean dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Mexican authorities say thieves killed 2 Australians and an American to steal their truck
Thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday.