Symbolic gestures will not be enough

We join those across the country who grieve the lives of 215 Indigenous children and the thousands of others who died as a result of systemic oppression and colonialism.

We have sent the letter below to our elected officials and, if you haven't done so already, we encourage you to do the same.

June 4, 2021

The Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

The Honourable Iain Rankin
Premier of Nova Scotia
PO Box 726
Halifax NS B3J 2T3

Amanda McDougall
Acting President, Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities
Suite 1304, 1809 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS B3J 3K8

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Premier Rankin, and Mayor McDougall:

We join those across the country who grieve the lives of 215 Indigenous children and the thousands of others who died as a result of systemic oppression and colonialism. Over 150,000 children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in residential schools. We recognize the intergenerational trauma our country has inflicted on Indigenous peoples and the current lived trauma that continues because of our collective apathy.

What matters now is what we do with this moment as a province and a country. Symbolic gestures will not be enough.

Feed Nova Scotia staff and board of directors are calling on all levels of government to:

Prioritize implementing the 94 Calls to Action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Prioritize implementing the 231 Calls for Justice identified by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Move ahead quickly on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Investigate the former Shubenacadie Residential School site grounds.
Stop the ongoing litigation of residential school survivors.

We commit to holding government accountable, and we commit to engaging our community to do the same.

Sincerely,

Nick Jennery
Executive Director

David Miller
Board Chair

Cc:

Jaime Battiste, MP Sydney-Victoria
Kody Blois, MP Kings-Hants
Chris d'Entremont, MP West Nova
Andy Fillmore, MP Halifax
Darren Fisher, MP Dartmouth-Cole Harbour
Sean Fraser, MP Central Nova
The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, MP South Shore-St. Margarets
Mike Kelloway, MP Cape Breton-Canso
The Honourable Geoff Regan, MP Halifax West
Darrell Samson, MP Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook
Lenore Zann, MP Cumberland-Colchester
Barbara Adams, MLA Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage
The Honourable Patricia Arab, MLA Fairview-Clayton Park
Keith Bain, MLA Victoria-The Lakes
Gary Burrill, MLA Halifax Chebucto
The Honourable Karen Lynn Casey, MLA Colchester North
Claudia Chender, MLA Dartmouth South
The Honourable Zach Churchill, MLA Yarmouth
The Honourable Keith Colwell, MLA Preston-Dartmouth
Brian Comer, MLA Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg
Kendra Coombes, MLA Cape Breton Centre
Steve Craig, MLA Sackville-Cobequid
The Honourable Randy Delorey, MLA Antigonish
The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, MLA Halifax Armdale
Rafah DiCostanzo, MLA Clayton Park West
The Honourable Pat Dunn, MLA Pictou Centre
Mark Furey, MLA Lunenburg West
Leo A. Glavine, MLA Kings West
Tim Halman, MLA Dartmouth East
Larry Harrison, MLA Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley
The Honourable Lloyd Hines, MLA Guysborough-Eastern Shore-Tracadie
Bill Horne, MLA Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank
Tim Houston, MLA Pictou East
The Honourable Tony Ince, MLA Cole Harbour-Portland Valley
The Honourable Keith Irving, MLA Kings South
The Honourable Ben Jessome, MLA Hammonds Plains-Lucasville
Brad Johns, MLA Sackville-Beaver Bank
The Honourable Labi Kousoulis, MLA Halifax Citadel-Sable Island
Colton LeBlanc, MLA Argyle-Barrington
Susan Leblanc, MLA Dartmouth North
The Honourable Suzanne Lohnes-Croft, MLA Lunenburg
John Lohr, MLA Kings North
Karla MacFarlane, MLA Pictou West
Hugh MacKay, MLA Chester-St. Margaret's
The Honourable Geoff MacLellan, MLA Glace Bay
Allan MacMaster, MLA Inverness
The Honourable Brendan Maguire, MLA Halifax Atlantic
Kim Masland, MLA Queens-Shelburne
Stephen McNeil, MLA Annapolis
The Honourable Margaret Miller, MLA Hants East
The Honourable Derek Mombourquette, MLA Sydney-Whitney Pier
The Honourable Kevin Murphy, MLA Eastern Shore
Alana Paon, MLA Cape Breton-Richmond
The Honourable Chuck Porter, MLA Hants West
The Honourable Kelly Regan, MLA Bedford
Dave Ritcey, MLA Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River
Lisa Roberts, MLA Halifax Needham
Tory Rushton, MLA Cumberland South
Murray Ryan, MLA Northside-Westmount
Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, MLA Cumberland North
Gordon Wilson, MLA Clare-Digby
Juanita Spencer, CEO, Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities