REGINA – Scott Moe said he is open to a discussion about government workers being able to wear orange shirts, in the wake of an incident this week in Meadow Lake.
The incident took place at Meadow Lake Court House. According to Meadow Lake Tribal Council, two female justice workers were sent home for wearing orange to work on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
“Sending these workers home for wearing orange is not only a denial of the deeply rooted and painful history being recognized but also an egregious disregard for the progress the country is striving to make in understanding and healing from this past,” said MLTC Tribal Chief Jeremy Norman in a statement.
“This action undermines the importance of acknowledging survivours
and honouring their courage and resilience. For a justice unit to respond in such a manner reflects poorly on its commitment to equity, inclusivity, and reconciliation. It also raises questions about the understanding of, and sensitivity toward, Indigenous issues within the institution itself.”
The tribal council also called on the Saskatchewan Government to make the day a provincial holiday and for the Saskatchewan Justice Unit in Meadow Lake to take immediate action to address this incident.
At a Sask Party campaign announcement in Prince Albert, Moe was asked about the incident and about the call to make Sept. 30 a provincial holiday.
Moe replied that he has commented previously about a provincial holiday, saying that discussion was “never off the table.”
The issue, he said, was that Saskatchewan had the highest or among the highest number of statutory holidays of any province.
As for the wearing of orange shirts, Moe pointed to a private member’s legislation allowing the wearing of poppies on Remembrance Day and suggested that could be extended to allowing the wearing of orange shirts on Sept. 30.
“ There is a discussion that should be had around that piece of legislation and what happened the other day with the orange shirts being in the courthouse,” said Moe. He said he would not preclude what the end of that discussion or what those decisions might be, but said hewould be happy to entertain that discussion “not only with MLTC but with other indigenous leaders across the province.”
