Today, Nipissing University joined over 40 post-secondary institutions from across Canada in signing the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion, the first national action plan to tackle anti-Black racism in Canadian higher education as a sector-wide response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
In June of this year, the federal government legislated September 30, 2021, as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As President, I am declaring that Nipissing University will recognize this day as a holiday, and as such, remote and in-person classes will be cancelled, and employees will not be required to report to work.
The Fall Term is around the corner and we are hopeful that we may cautiously steer our way through the limitations placed upon us by the pandemic and see a gradual return to classroom and campus activities. I hope that you have had the time to rest, following a very challenging year.
This year, Canada Day will look and feel much different as our nation collectively mourns and grapples with the deeply disturbing realities and legacy of residential schools in Canada.
The recent news about the discovery of a mass grave of 215 children in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc near Kamloops, British Columbia, is deeply disturbing and a sobering reminder of these truths and devastating chapter in our nation’s not-so-distant shared history. We send our deepest condolences to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation for this tragic loss of the children and their families.
