Annual stamp issue to help raise awareness and support spirit of healing
OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 27, 2021 /CNW/ - In keeping with its commitment to the principles of truth and reconciliation, Canada Post is working with Indigenous experts to issue a Truth and Reconciliation stamp in 2022 – the first in what will be an annual series.
The stamp will be issued each year in connection with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new federal day of commemoration on September 30 (held for the first time in 2021) to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, a national movement that began in 2013 to honour the more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children who were sent to residential schools. The annual stamp issue will help raise awareness about Indigenous truth and reconciliation and support a spirit of healing.
"Canada Post has a long history of sharing important Canadian stories through its stamp program. As a national storyteller and a public institution in virtually every community across Canada, we are committed to supporting the principles of truth and reconciliation," says Doug Ettinger, President and CEO of Canada Post.
"As a country, it is part of our collective duty to acknowledge and honour the experiences of Indigenous peoples and to move forward together, in a spirit of healing. We hope this annual stamp series can help facilitate that."
Canada Post has launched several initiatives and will launch others to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and support the principles of truth and reconciliation:
- On September 29 and 30, Canada Post employees are invited to wear orange shirts to work.
- Beginning in 2022, the Canada Post Community Foundation will award an annual Signature Grant of $50,000 to a national organization that offers programming anchored in the principles of truth and reconciliation and that supports Indigenous children and youth across the country. In 2021, the Foundation awarded 17 grants, totalling approximately $270,000, to programs that support Indigenous youth.
- Most of Canada Post's operations, including all corporate post offices, will be closed September 30 to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
- From September 24 to 30, Canada Post's head office in Ottawa is being illuminated with orange light to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Photos are available here.
- In November 2020, the Corporation launched its Indigenous and Northern Reconciliation Strategy. To read more about the strategy, click here.
SOURCE Canada Post
Media Relations, 613-734-8888, [email protected]
Share this article