BC Lions to give 350 tickets to residential school survivors, mark Orange Shirt Day at game against Roughriders
Hundreds of tickets to a CFL game scheduled shortly before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be given to survivors of Canada's residential school system.
The BC Lions will be giving away 350 tickets to survivors and other Indigenous partners for the game on Sept. 24, the club announced Thursday.
Both teams will be wearing orange spatting as part of their uniforms that day in recognition of the upcoming holiday on Sept. 30. Their hope is that fans in the stands will also wear orange to the game at Vancouver's BC Place.
To help create a "sea of orange," the Lions will give away 10,000 orange shirts to the first fans who arrive at the stadium, which feature a stylized rendition of the BC Lions logo created by Kwakwaka'wakw/Tlingit artist Corrine Hunt.
Those involved hope fans will also wear the shirts on Sept. 30.
That day, which for the first time ever will be a statutory holiday in B.C., has long been marked as Orange Shirt Day in recognition of survivors and their families.
It's part of a partnership between the Orange Shirt Society, the BC Lions Football Club, the Ending Violence Association of B.C. and the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc nation.
Premier John Horgan was part of the announcement made live on Thursday, and said the day will be one to recognize intergenerational trauma faced by Indigenous peoples.
"We honour the resilience and strength of survivors, families and communities across the country."
Horgan said he encourages everyone in B.C. to wear orange that day, and to take time to consider the ongoing impact of the system.
CHILDREN WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT HOME
"By now it’s no secret that thousands of Indigenous children across the country did not make it home from school," said B.C. Tourism Minister Melanie Mark, whose grandparents attended residential schools.
She called the new partnership "reconciliation in action."
Speaking at the news conference, Mark became visibly emotional multiple times.
"We are going to stand up in solidarity and remember that every child matters," she said through tears.
She urged British Columbians to learn more about the 94 calls to action identified as ways to advance reconciliation. Quoting Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair Murray Sinclair, she said, "Education got us into this mess, and education is going to get us out. So please, step up."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.