President's Corner is a regular column from President Deep Saini.
Dear Dal Community,
We end this week as we began, with heavy hearts, as we mourn the 215 sacred children whose remains were found at the site of the former Tk鈥檈ml煤ps te Secw茅pemc Residential School. This is an event of national shame, and I want to reiterate the university鈥檚 shared empathy and solidarity with the Indigenous communities in B.C., nationally and particularly Nova Scotia and Dalhousie, who are experiencing the gravity of this loss. Our flags remain at half mast for 215 hours, until sunset on June 8, to recognize these lost children and all affected by the tragedies of the residential school system.
I want to thank those members of Dalhousie鈥檚 Indigenous community who met with me earlier this week, and recognize those who continue to provide support and resources for students, faculty and staff as well as their own communities, during a time when they themselves are grieving. 聽
As a university, we support the pursuit of truth, justice and reconciliation, and we are committed to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission鈥檚 Calls to Action on education. We must renew our determination to listen, facilitate spaces for compassion and coming together, and help ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Sincerely,
Deep
President Saini can be reached at deep.saini@dal.ca. You can also connect with him on聽 and .