The Rotary Club has cancelled its planned Canada Day parade in Yellowknife, amid the news of more bodies found buried in a mass grave in Saskatchewan.
The club said in a statement the parade did not meet their Four-Way test, an ethical principal the Rotary Club follows for their community involvement.
“When we started planning this year’s parade many months ago, our primary concern was COVID-19,” Rotary Club president Wayne Guy said in a statement. “But the tragic discovery of unmarked graves in recent weeks at former residential schools in B.C. and Saskatchewan has changed the meaning of July 1 this year for many.”
Guy added that the club thanked everyone involved for helping with planning the event.
The parade was set to start at the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool and head towards Somba Ke’e Park for a feeding the fire ceremony. A protest against the parade had been planned to take place at the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool as well, with attendants planning to wear orange to remember the victims of residential schools.
