CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific has unveiled a locomotive that commemorates Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which will be observed on Sept. 30.
CP ES44AC No. 8757 has been painted in an orange livery that bears the motto “Every Child Matters.”
The holiday honors the lost children and survivors of Indian Residential Schools, their families and communities, and coincides with Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led day of remembrance.
“The orange locomotive is a symbol of CP’s commitment and willingness to participate in the reconciliation process with indigenous Canadians,” said Jerome Beauchamp, president of the Orange Shirt Society. “This is exciting, and provides CP, as a corporation, an opportunity to learn more and continue to act on its commitment to move reconciliation with indigenous Canadians forward. We at the Orange Shirt Society are excited to partner with CP and would love to help CP along its journey.”
CP will put the locomotive into service on Sept. 30.
The special livery was proposed by Jacob Hoffer, a 13-year-old Indigenous youth, who over the summer wrote to the railway asking it to paint a locomotive orange. Jacob and his mother, Darcy, participated in the unveiling of the locomotive at CP headquarters in Calgary on Monday.
“The locomotive will raise awareness as it operates across CP’s network for all of us who see it to continue on the path of learning about Indigenous peoples and their rich history and culture,” CP said in a statement.
The government of Canada says that “Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
There were 140 federally run Indian Residential Schools which operated in Canada between 1831 and 1998. Earlier this year more than 750 unmarked graves were found at a former residential school site in Saskatchewan, and the remains of 215 children were found at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.
Orange Shirt Day relates to the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, who arrived on her first day of school dressed in a new orange shirt. The shirt was taken from her and has become a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom, and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.
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