The MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson says people need to believe the truth spoken by Indigenous people when they talk about their experiences at residential schools or with generational trauma.

In his first speaking opportunity of the fall Legislative session, Milobar said believing Indigenous people and taking meaningful action to support them is more important that simply listening to people when they speak.

“Last Thursday, many of us in this Chamber and many more across British Columbia attended local events to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” he said.

“As speaker after speaker spoke about there must be truth before true reconciliation, it occurred to me that Indigenous voices across this country had been speaking the truth for generations. What had been lacking is a believing of the truth.”

“There truly can’t be reconciliation without the truth, but the truth has been out there for quite some time,” he added.

Milobar, the House Leader for the BC Liberals, urged provincial politicians to act while also asking British Columbians to “meaningfully engage in reconciliation” and to find a way so that the voices of Indigenous peoples to be believed.

“As Kamloops continues to be the focal point at this juncture, we know sadly other communities will start to advance, as well, with their discoveries,” he said.

“People are listening. Now is the time, more than ever, for us to take meaningful action in this chamber, to make sure that the words in that UNDRIP document that we all unanimously passed in that legislation are meaningfully actioned and to make sure that, as we move forward, reconciliation is not just a buzzword.”

The conversation, he also noted, has to continue beyond National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

“Beyond wearing a shirt or attending an observance, what else can we do to advance the process of reconciliation in our communities? I know all the members in this house feel that way. Now we collectively have to make sure that our action demonstrate that commitment to those words.”

B.C.’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation told NL News last week that he is optimistic that National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will become a statutory holiday in the province.

“I’d like to hear what Indigenous leadership thinks,” Rankin said. “How do we make sure that the aspirations of a true national Truth and Reconciliation Day are met? Our government is committed to consulting.”