Welcome to the New Westminster & District Labour Council website.
The New Westminster & District Labour Council (NWDLC) is a community-based central labour organization representing trade union members at the local level. We are a chartered organization of the Canadian Labour Congress, Canada’s national voice for workers and their families.
Our goal is to ensure that our communities and our elected representatives at all levels of government in Canada respond to the needs of people and families.
*We are getting a fair number of email bounce backs lately when sending out the weekly e-blast or links to the monthly regular meetings. If you have not received either or both of these, please call the Labour Council office at (604) 291-9306 to request them. Thanks!
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*Trigger warning*
In light of the horrifying and heartbreaking news last week that 215 children were found buried in an mass grave at Kamloops Indian Residential School the NWDLC and C&SA committee Co-Chairs have postponed our committee meeting for this Wednesday June 2 so that those who are able may attend the Remember the Children vigil in Vancouver. We stand in solidarity and sorrow with the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation and survivors of the Residential school system and intergenerational trauma.
If you are a survivor of the Indian Residential School system or inter-generational trauma there are supports available:
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society https://www.irsss.ca/home
Their mandate is
“To assist First Nation Peoples in British Columbia to recognize and be holistically empowered from the primary and generational effect of the Residential Schools by supporting research, education, awareness, establishing partnerships, and advocating for justice and healing. The Society assists Survivors with counselling, court support, information, referrals, workshops and more.”
IRSSS Toll-Free Line: 1-800-721-0066
24hr National Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
KUU-US Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717
Tsow-Tun-Le Lum: 1-866-925-4419
For non-Indigenous delegates wanting to take action, here are some suggestions and resources:
From IRSSS
Learn about the impacts of the Indian Residential School system
- Read the TRC’s 94 recommendations
- Contact your MPs and local officials
- Actively listen to people of First Nations, Inuit and Métis backgrounds
- Stand up to stereotypes, prejudice and systemic racism
- Have conversations with your family and friends (even children)
- Be respectful towards trauma survivors and elders
- Support Indigenous-led community organizations
- Be patient, empathetic & receptive (it’s distressing for everyone)
- Raise awareness in your community/online (wear orange)
Read Volume 4 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the Residential School system: https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Volume_4_Missing_Children_English_Web.pdf
7 Free Ways to make a difference from First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
https://fncaringsociety.com/what-you-can-do
Donate and support work at organizations like:
https://fncaringsociety.com/donate
Follow and amplify Indigenous voices on social media and in the news:
Preparing for a Better Future with Greater Diversity in Political Leadership kicks off this Spring 2021. Register here to receive news and updates.