In the news today: Ontario MPP wants paid holiday for TRC day

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Ontario MPP wants paid holiday for TRC day

Ontario’s only First Nation representative at Queen’s Park plans to soon table proposed legislation, in his own Indigenous language, to have the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation declared a paid provincial holiday.

The day is a federal statutory holiday, but not a provincial one in Ontario.

New Democrat deputy leader Sol Mamakwa, who represents the northwestern riding of Kiiwetinoong, wants Ontario to follow the federal government’s lead and said he hopes Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives will support the idea.

The day recognizes the abuse suffered by Inuit, First Nations and Metis people at hundreds of state- and church-run residential schools across the country.

It is a statutory holiday for federally regulated workers and employees in some other provinces such as British Columbia.

The day is an evolution of Orange Shirt Day, an initiative started in 2013 and inspired by Phyllis Webstad’s story of having the orange shirt her grandmother gave her taken away when she arrived at a residential school in 1973 at the age of six.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Ceremony to mark Truth and Reconciliation Day

A National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony is planned in Ottawa this afternoon to honour the survivors of Canada’s residential school system and the children who never returned home.

The event on Parliament Hill is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET and includes survivors and Indigenous leaders, while other events are planned in locations across Canada throughout the day.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will host a sacred fire ceremony in the morning at Rideau Hall before joining the event on Parliament Hill alongside survivors and Indigenous leaders in the afternoon.

More than 150,000 children were forced to attend residential schools, and many survivors detailed the horrific abuse they suffered to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

An estimated 6,000 children died while attending the schools, although experts say the actual number could be much higher.

Montreal dockworkers set to strike Monday

The union representing longshore workers at the Port of Montreal is set to go on strike at two terminals today if a last-minute deal isn’t reached by 7 a.m.

The union served a 72-hour strike notice on Friday, warning of a potential work stoppage that could last until Thursday at two terminals owned by Termont Montreal.

The union local, which is affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, says about 350 members would be part of the labour action, affecting roughly 35 per cent of container shipments.

The longshore workers’ collective agreement with the Maritime Employers Association expired on Dec. 31.

The association issued a statement on Sunday evening saying it has tried “all possible means” of avoiding the strike, adding neither mediation nor a Sunday afternoon emergency meeting with the Canada Industrial Relations Board were fruitful.

Fire destroys church in northwestern Saskatchewan

An early morning fire has destroyed an Anglican church in northwestern Saskatchewan.

Loon Lake Mayor Brian Hirschfeld says the blaze levelled St. George’s Church in the village on Saturday morning.

RCMP say no one was in the church at the time and no injuries have been reported to police.

Police say the investigation is in its preliminary stages, and they’re asking anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area of the church on Saturday morning, or who has information about the fire, to contact them.

George Rothenburger, who was the secretary at St. George’s and was also a lay reader, says the building was constructed in 1938 and still held a community service once per month.

Rothenburger says he learned of the fire when he got a phone call shortly after 5 a.m. on Saturday, and when he got dressed and stepped outside his home, he could see the flames towering into the air.

AI companies could be more transparent: Meta VP

Meta Platforms’ head of artificial intelligence research says many companies are doing plenty of work to keep platforms safe but they’re not being as open about it as they should be.

As A-I evolves, Joelle Pineau (JOH’-el PIN’-oh) says she hopes companies involved in its development and use tackle transparency.

She envisions this can be done by asking them to document information like what data was used to create their A-I models, their capabilities and some of the results from risk assessments.

While Pineau doesn’t have a prescriptive list of everything she wants companies to reveal, she sees it as a first step that would give the public the same kind of transparency they get from reviewing ingredient and nutritional information on grocery store products.

Pineau feels compiling the information would also build trust and force companies to behave and be even safer because they know their work could be scrutinized.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press