Canada Day is often wrapped in fireworks and festivities, celebrating our gratitude for living in a safe country that so many aspire to join. But for many this country is not safe, and these celebrations represent a painful reminder of injustice, systemic harm, and unfulfilled promises.

Canada Day Is a Time to Reflect And Act—Not to Celebrate, an opportunity to confront what true nationhood would look like, one rooted in accountability, justice, and care.

1. Indigenous Land and Lives Are Still Not Respected
   The remains of Indigenous children from residential schools still haven’t all been returned. Land back efforts continue to be blocked. There is no true reconciliation without reparations and justice.
   
   

2. The Foster Care System Funnels Indigenous Children Into Prisons
   Many children in care are criminalized instead of cared for. Canada cannot celebrate while it continues to forcibly remove children from their families and communities, and then when they age out of care, warehouse them.
   
   

3. Incarcerated Indigenous Peoples Face Inhumane Conditions
   Solitary confinement, lack of mental health care, and systemic racism plague Canadian correctional institutions. Justice cannot be about punishment.
   
   

4. Anti-Indigenous Racism Is Still Embedded in Our Institutions
   From policing to education to health care, structural racism shapes outcomes for entire communities. Canada’s multicultural image often hides behind its colonial reality.
   
   

5. There Is No Equity Without Structural Change And Integrity
   Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are buzzwords. Without accountability mechanisms and redistributive policies, EDI remains performative while exploiting and tokenizing the Indigenous Peoples they claim to serve. 

While celebration may not be in order, you can use Canada Day as an opportunity to take a step toward justice with action.

These are five organizations where you can donate to or volunteer:

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society

First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada

Prisoners’ Legal Services

BC First Nations Justice Council

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver

Meet Harpreet: Harpreet Ahuja is a lawyer, human rights consultant, and social justice advocate driven by the conviction that systems need reimagining. Her work explores the intersection of law, policy, and lived experience—and tells the human stories behind injustice. Harpreet is based in Vancouver on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), and publishes on her website.