Yesterday, the staff at the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District were unusually colour-coordinated. The entire team dressed to support  Orange Shirt Day – Every Child Matters, which takes place tomorrow, and to invite everyone in the community to join in the spirit of reconciliation, and wear orange this Saturday (September 30) to acknowledge this growing national movement, and to pledge your own commitment to the affirmation that #EveryChildMatters.

And if you wonder, can a shirt make a difference, I would only say: it does when it becomes a wave of colour across the country. It does when it’s a flag waving in a community to say, we don’t want you to feel alone.

This national movement began not far from here, Williams Lake, just 4 years ago thanks to one  woman who had the courage to speak her truth.

I will wear an orange shirt, to let her know that, as hard as it might be to hear the unspoken history of this country, I am listening.