Organizers of Prince Albert’s two Canada Day events say they’re going ahead with the ceremonies, although in an altered version, while the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) announced their decision to cancel their Canada Day events Tuesday night.

Representatives from both the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 2 in Prince Albert, and the Prince Albert Multicultural council, say they’re taking different approaches this year, but have no plans to cancel or postpone their events.

Several communities across Saskatchewan have delayed their Canada Day celebrations following the uncovering of an estimated 751 unmarked graves at the former site of Marieval Indian Residential School.

Multicultural council executive director Michelle Hassler said their festivities have always been celebrated Canada’s diversity and inclusion. This year, they’re going to use the event to recognize and honour the victims of Canada’s residential school system.

“It’s not the typical music and entertainment celebration,” Hassler said. “It’s not going to be celebratory, for sure. It’s more about sharing stories.”

The council’s Canada Day event will be streamed live over Facebook. More than a dozen local artists will take part, including a number of children’s entertainers. However, the lineup also includes a PAGC Reconciliation and Learning Ceremony, something Hassler hopes will help newcomers to Prince Albert who are trying to learn about Canada’s residential school history. The council has also invited Indigenous elders to open and close the ceremony in prayer.

Hassler stressed that their ceremonies were not designed like corporate Canada Day celebrations put on in major cities. Instead, they are organized and hosted by grassroots organizations and community members, with a focus on history, diversity, and learning.

“It will be a start for the community to come together and work together as one towards reconciliation and towards healing,” Hassler said. “There will be some information that we will share that will help everybody in the community, hopefully, especially our Indigenous brothers and sisters who are really going through a tough time right now.”

Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 2 also plans to host there annual Canada Day fish fry in the legion hall parking lot. Lorraine Gobeil, the legion’s Canada Day chair, said they respect and support residential survivors, and only seek to honour Canadian veterans with a special event.

“We’re just trying to celebrate Canada Day for them because of what they did—fought for Canada, and kept us going,” Gobeil explained.

Following the announcement from Cowessess First Nation, the Royal Canadian Legion asked each branch to lower their flags to half-mast for an indefinite period of mourning.

Gobeil said the legion will be there for residential school survivors when needed, but it was important to do something to honour veterans too.

“We wouldn’t be here if not for some of these veterans who are still alive, and some not alive,” she said. “This is what we do—celebrate Canada Day for them.”

Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte said they canceled their own Canada Day celebrations and decided to honour the children who died at residential schools instead. Hardlotte said it was an appropriate decision considering residential schools were run by the Canadian government as well as the churches.

When asked about other organizations holding Canada Day celebrations, Hardlotte said he understands that many people were still learning about Canada’s residential school history. Others, he said, were following long-standing traditions to honour certain groups.

“They know their history about Canada, and maybe they don’t know the history about what Canada has done to the Indigenous population with the residential schools and with the children—little, small children—taken away from their parents,” Hardlotte said. “Maybe they haven’t really absorbed that part of (Canada’s) history. For myself, I respect that and know they will take the time to learn that, but I really acknowledge and respect the ones who have decided to cancel their Canada Day celebrations. I really acknowledge them, and I guess I thank them for doing this.”

On Monday, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) announced that they would not celebrate Canada Day in 2021. The community issued a press release on Monday saying the recent discovery of mass graves in Kamloops, Marieval was challenging for the community. The community said they would not participate in, celebrate or acknowledge Canada Day in solidarity with other First Nations.

“We need time to process and grieve for all the little children who died at these schools,” Chief Karen Bird said in a media release. “Residential school survivors need space to mourn their childhoods. Intergenerational survivors are struggling and support systems are overwhelmed. We need to take this time to breathe, grieve, cry and heal.”

Bird said PBCN would instead attend a special ceremony at Sturgeon Landing on July 5 to remember the children who died at the Sturgeon Lake Residential School.

On Saturday, the City of Melville joined La Ronge and Meadow Lake on the list of cities who would postpone their festivities. Melville plans to host a community vigil instead on Wednesday. The City has also encouraged residents to place a candle in their window or on their front step, and hang an orange shirt in solidarity with residential school survivors.

City officials called the unmarked graves a “dark cloud that hangs over our country” in a press release sent out on Saturday. They said Melville residents will have plenty to celebrate in the future, but urged residents to make this Canada Day a day of solidarity and reflection.

“The recent discovery of unmarked graves across the country and now at Cowessess is a sad part of our nation’s history,” reads a City of Melville press release announcing the decision. “It is a time to reflect and mourn with our Indigenous community.”

Melville is roughly 55 km north of Cowessess First Nation, the community where the unmarked graves are located.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said it’s entirely appropriate if some communities decline to celebrate Canada Day his year. However, he plans to celebrate Canada, albeit with less pomp and ceremony that usual.

“I respect both of those decisions that are being made across this province,” Moe said. “I will be celebrating what I believe is a great nation—a great nation with great opportunities that lie before us…. On this Canada Day in particular, I think, I will also be reflecting much more than I have on other Canada Days as to our history, both our positive history in this nation, but also our history that is not so positive and quite negative.”

–with files from Michael Bramadat-Willcock and Michael Oleksyn