“Reconciliation begins when truth is heard, grows when respect becomes action, and endures when we walk forward together with humility, understanding, and purpose.” – MJ Martin
A Day of Truth, Remembrance, and Respect
September 30 is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is not simply another statutory holiday, nor is it a day of celebration. It is a day to remember, to learn, to listen, and to recognize the experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples whose families and communities were profoundly affected by Canada’s residential school system.
The day became a federal statutory holiday in 2021 in direct response to Call to Action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. That Call to Action asked Canada to establish a national day that would honour residential school Survivors, their families, and their communities, while ensuring that the history and legacy of residential schools remained part of our national consciousness. The Government of Canada formally established September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to support this commitment.
Understanding the History
For generations, Indigenous children were removed from their families and communities and placed in residential schools. At least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children attended these institutions. The schools were largely operated by churches and religious organizations, with the system administered and funded by the federal government as part of a broader policy intended to assimilate Indigenous children into Canadian society.
The consequences did not end when the schools closed. Survivors carried their experiences home, families lived with profound losses, languages and cultural traditions were disrupted, and the effects continue across generations. More than 4,100 children are known to have died while attending residential schools, although the complete number may never be known.
Understanding this history is like examining the foundation of a building. We cannot fully understand the cracks that appear today without examining what happened beneath the surface decades ago. Reconciliation therefore begins with understanding the truth of what occurred.
Why September 30 Matters
September 30 also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led movement inspired by residential school Survivor Phyllis Webstad. When she entered St. Joseph Mission Residential School as a six-year-old child, the new orange shirt given to her by her grandmother was taken away. Her experience became a powerful symbol of the identity, dignity, language, culture, and family connections that were taken from generations of Indigenous children.
The message associated with Orange Shirt Day, Every Child Matters, reminds Canadians that every child deserves dignity, safety, family, culture, identity, and belonging. It also reminds us that the children who attended residential schools were more than historical statistics. They were children with families, dreams, personalities, languages, traditions, and communities.
Metercor Remembers and Honours
At Metercor, we honour First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples across Canada, including residential school Survivors, their families, their descendants, and the children who never returned home.
For Canadian businesses, reconciliation also carries responsibility. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 92 specifically addresses Canada’s corporate sector. It calls upon businesses to develop respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples, create equitable opportunities for employment, education, and training, and provide employees with education about Indigenous history, Treaties, Indigenous rights, and the legacy of residential schools.
This responsibility is particularly meaningful for companies that work in communities across Canada. Business relationships are ultimately human relationships. They are built through trust, respect, listening, and consistency. Reconciliation follows much the same principle. It cannot be achieved through a statement issued once each year. It requires relationships and actions that continue long after September 30 has passed.
From Recognition to Reconciliation
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation asks Canadians to do something more difficult than simply remember history. It asks us to consider how that history continues to influence Canada today.
Questions to Ponder
* How well do we understand the Indigenous history of the communities in which we live and work?
* Are we listening to Indigenous voices rather than speaking for them?
* Are Canadian businesses creating meaningful opportunities for Indigenous employment, training, procurement, partnerships, and economic participation?
* Are we treating reconciliation as a continuing responsibility rather than an annual observance?
Perhaps the most important question is what happens on October 1.
On September 30, 2026, Metercor remembers. We listen. We learn. We honour the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples of Canada, and we recognize that truth is not the conclusion of reconciliation. Truth is where reconciliation begins.
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees – in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven major certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 80 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) [aka Micro Learning] continuous education programs in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Power BI, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.
Martin is a volunteer, a photographer, a learner, a technologist, a philosophizer, and a romantic optimist.