Montrealers gathered at Parc Jeanne-Mance, as well as around the monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier in Parc du Mont-Royal, on the afternoon of July 1 to support Indigenous communities at #CancelCanadaDay events in Montreal.
The gatherings aimed to support Indigenous communities by honouring the lives of Indigenous children, demanding justice and denouncing genocide.
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Attendees marched and gathered to protest the celebration of Canada Day.
Similar gatherings took place across the country.
Indigenous leaders at the Montreal gatherings played drums as they spoke of their communities' traditions in honouring their ancestors, as well as Canada's history of residential schools.
"When the Europeans got here, they didn't see us as full human beings [...] and as a result of that, we were subjugated," said a speaker.
Many attendees wore orange shirts to commemorate the loss of life and pay tribute to survivors of Canada's residential school system.
