Marking National Truth and Reconciliation Day in Halifax
Posted Sep 29, 2026 12:04:34 PM.
It’s a moment to reflect and pause to remember the people who fought to preserve Indigenous history, language and culture and the ones who never made it home.
National Truth and Reconciliation Day reminds people of the residential school survivors and the collective trauma of communities in the province and across the country continue to work through today. For almost 40 years, children were forced into assimilation at the brutal schools in Nova Scotia, as knowledge and traditions of Indigenous culture were passed down in secret.
“This year’s Mi’kmaw History Month theme, Nepisulti’k – We Are Healing, is inspired by the teachings of the late Elder Murdena Marshall, who described healing as a lifelong journey. Remembering is part of that journey,” Leah Martin, Minister of L’nu Affairs, said in a statement.
Sept. 30 marks the sixth time people in Halifax Regional Municipality and the province will get a day to learn from Indigenous people, and it also launches Mi’kmaw History Month. A flag raising ceremony will be held at city hall on Tuesday.
Minister Martin is asking people to support Indigenous communities by attending an event, support their businesses, artists and authors or visiting the Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Centre, Membertou Heritage Park or Nora Bernard Commemoration Park.
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Schedule changes
There are some service adjustments to consider on Wednesday.
Halifax Trasit busses and ferries will operate on a holiday schedule; there will not be a Woodside Ferry. The Alderney Ferry will run every half an hour starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 11:45 p.m.
All busses will pull over for a moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. to mark the 215 unmarked graves found at a residential school site in Kamloops, B.C.
Municipal recreational facilities will be closed, including customer care centres. Waste collection will continue on Sept. 30.
Grocery stores are expected to be open, while NSLC will be closed.
Tension between Indigenous communities and province
The day comes after a contentious spring and summer between several Indigenous community leaders and the Government of Nova Scotia.
The province wanted a crackdown on illegal cannabis production in Indigenous communities, saying the products were dangerous, aiding criminal organizations and supporting human trafficking. The divide came to a head when Martin, Premier Tim Houston and Scott Armstrong made comments on the cannabis.
“We all know some just sell unregulated product (cannabis), some sell much more than that. We’ve seen some that sell guns, some that sell mushrooms, some that sell cocaine, women,” Martin said at the time.
Some First Nations leaders have said the government’s ongoing rhetoric is villainizing Indigenous communities by using outdated colonial tactics and undermining their treaty rights.
The comments fed into a volatile political environment as the government came under fire for a series of police raids that mostly targeted dispensaries in First Nations communities. The raids also prompted fierce opposition, including two temporary blockades of Nova Scotia highways that caused traffic slowdowns ahead of the Easter long weekend.
When asked about Martin’s comments by The Canadian Press, a spokesperson with the Nova Scotia RCMP said investigators have discovered “other illicit items” while searching illegal cannabis storefronts, including cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms.
During searches at dispensaries in the Southwest Nova RCMP district, officers seized eighteen firearms. “However, there’s no evidence to support charges related to firearms trafficking,” Allison Gerrard said in an email.
“The Nova Scotia RCMP isn’t aware of any evidence showing a direct connection between human trafficking and illegal cannabis markets, but both crimes can coexist. That means overlap is possible, even if not documented today,” she said.
