SAIT refuses to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, AUPE says

Workers at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) are asked to come to work on Sep. 30, despite no classes that day, says Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

The union adds the technical school is refusing to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday.

“It’s difficult to understand why SAIT no longer thinks it’s appropriate to take the day to contemplate the need for truth and reconciliation,” said Bobby-Joe Borodey, vice-president of AUPE. “Even though classes have been cancelled on Sept. 30, so students can engage fully in the national day, workers are being instructed to come to work. It makes no sense.”

Borodey also questions whether SAIT thinks enough has been done for reconciliation.

“Does SAIT really think there has been enough truth, enough reconciliation in the last year? What has changed in the last 12 months?”

The union says since 2021, SAIT has been the last post-secondary institution to recognize the day as a national day, and this year, their decision wasn’t made until the last minute.

“AUPE members have been told they can attend truth-and-reconciliation events, but those events have to be approved by managers and members must be at work before and after the events,” Borodey said.

AUPE says SAIT told their staff in an email their decision stems from their consultation with “Indigenous stakeholders.”

“Those stakeholders would like to see the SAIT community use the day to pause, reflect and learn about Truth and Reconciliation,” read the email.

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But the union says SAIT is misinterpreting the Indigenous community’s wishes, as using one hour of the day to recognize truth and reconciliation, is not enough.

“SAIT is ignoring its own stakeholder consultations. Those stakeholders said they wanted people to ‘use the day,’ not a tiny part of the day. SAIT, it seems, thinks truth and reconciliation can be achieved in an hour or so,” said Borodey.

The union is asking SAIT to change their decision, as the current one compromises truth and reconciliation efforts.

“We can think of no good reason to change from last year or to treat students differently from workers. Canada will not achieve truth and reconciliation as long as institutions like SAIT continue to downplay the seriousness of what happened to Indigenous people in this country and what we need to do to move forward,” said Borodey.

CityNews reached out to SAIT and got the following statement:

“Though SAIT will remain open on Friday, Sept. 30, we’ve cancelled classes and labs for a day of reflection and learning. Our intention is for our students and employees to set aside regular duties for the day and participate in activities — whether at SAIT, or throughout the city, and to take advantage of the online learning resources available,” the statement read. “To be clear, our leaders have been asked to release employees from their normal duties to engage in development activities in observance of the day. They are free to pursue whatever learnings they desire, and do not require their leader’s approval. Libraries and open study spaces will be made available to students and important security and facilities functions will be operational.

Truth and Reconciliation is both a shared and an individual journey, and we encourage all employees to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in the manner in which they feel will be most effective — on campus, at home or elsewhere in the city. More information is available on their website.