Listen Live
Listen Live

New Sept. 30 stat holiday to be recognized by City of Lethbridge

LETHBRIDGE, AB – There is a new statutory holiday in a few weeks and local officials here are hoping this will be more than just another day off for some people.

September 30th was recently declared by federal legislation as the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

Perry Stein, the City’s Indigenous Relations Adviser, says this day should be an important one for all Lethbridge residents.

“I think this holiday is more akin to Remembrance Day,” says Stein. “It’s a day we should be reflecting, we should be having conversations with our friends and family about the importance of this day and really educating ourselves about the legacy of genocide in this country and the legacy of residential schools.”

All City of Lethbridge facilities will be closed on September 30th.

Mayor Chris Spearman says the city is asking its employees to attend the local events that recognize Truth and Reconciliation and Lethbridge’s relationship with our Indigenous Peoples. “It’s very much a factor here in the City of Lethbridge. We have been trying to raise awareness and trying to create understanding.”

That day, September 30th was chosen for this new stat holiday because it was the time of year when Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to attend residential schools.

The City of Lethbridge has made a number of commitments to Truth and Reconciliation, including that in September 2021, the new flagpoles outside City Hall will permanently fly the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) flag.

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
- Advertisement -

cjoc Now playing play

ckbd Now playing play

Related Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest News

Single lane road closures to commence Wednesday

Single lane road closures will commence Wednesday and Thursday this week on the Scenic Drive bridge over Whoop-Up Drive, as maintenance work begins. 

Environmental Blitz Day returns, as the City promotes clean and green

There are simple ways to help keep Lethbridge clean and green. 

Lethbridge rent remains among lowest: monthly rent report

Rent in Lethbridge remains among the lowest of the 60 municipalities included in a report looking at rents in June.

Public looking to locate missing 12-year-old

The public is being asked for their help locating a missing 12-year-old. 

Waterton Park singer/songwriter’s ‘Fault Lines,’ includes homage to Alberta living

Kyle Owen’s brand-new solo album Fault Lines “explores emotional vulnerability through a rich blend of raw textures, recorded on old instruments that lend the project a weathered, intimate warmth.” 
- Advertisement -