The B.C. government and the Orange Shirt Society joined forces Thursday to highlight the inter-generational impact of residential schools on children by raising awareness of the Orange Shirt Day campaign.
Orange Shirt Society president Phyllis Webstad stood on the steps of the B.C. Parliament Buildings to highlight the campaign, sending a message that "Every Child Matters."
The Orange Shirt Day campaign was founded on Webstad's experiences of being sent to St. Joseph Mission residential school in Williams Lake in 1973 at age six. She wore a treasured orange shirt bought by her grandmother, but was stripped of the shirt when she arrived at the school. She never wore it again, but in later years, used its symbolism as the foundation of her campaign.
Orange Shirt Day occurs annually on Sept. 30 and government members took advantage of the nearest day the legislature was in session prior to the campaign day to raise the profile of this important issue.