Windsor City Hall will be open on Thursday, but the city is holding public events to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
It has been honouring the suffering of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada in the residential school system all week by lighting up City Hall orange at night.
Public events start at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday with the raising of the "Every Child Matters" flag at Charles Clark Square at 8:30 a.m.
At 11 a.m., residents can also help commemorate the day by participating in the opening ceremonies of the Every Child Matters Healing Walk east of Bert Weeks Memorial Gardens. The walk along the Riverfront Trail starts at 1 p.m., and closing ceremonies are at 6 p.m. at Assumption Park.
Those who attend need to wear a mask and social distance from others. They are also encouraged to wear an orange shirt.
"The City of Windsor stands with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and encourages everyone to spend time building an understanding of the true and often painful history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, which is a part of our national story," said Mayor Drew Dilkens.
Municipal staff have been encouraged this week to focus on the importance of reconciliation. Teams will take time on Thursday to discuss how city services, programs, and infrastructure can help bring about reconciliation.
Transit Windsor will also tie orange ribbons to bus mirrors and change head signs to read #EveryChildMatters.
Across Windsor-Essex, other town halls will close on Thursday and reopen on Friday. Tecumseh, LaSalle, Lakeshore and the County of Essex plan to close their offices.
Federal government offices will close, but provincial ones will remain open.
Last June, the House of Commons passed Bill C-5, which recognized September 30 as a federal holiday for federal employees.
It coincides with Orange Shirt Day. It commemorates Phyllis Webstad, a former residential school survivor who wore a bright orange shirt on her first day at the school. She was six. The shirt, which had been a gift from her grandmother, was taken away from her. The orange shirt has become a symbol of remembrance of all Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools where their language and culture were repressed.
