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MEC’s journey towards Truth and Reconciliation

September 28, 2023

Found in Community news

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a deeply important day to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools in Canada. The significance of the date, September 30, stems from Orange Shirt Day.

We encourage you to learn more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls to action, including the responsibilities of organizations, in the Calls to Action report.

Our journey this year

As an organization, we’re committed to our journey towards Truth and Reconciliation year-round. MEC supports partnerships focused on reconciliation in the outdoors. A few of our latest steps for 2023:

  • This year, MEC connected with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, who shared that they have need for gear for their outdoor school for Indigenous youth. We plan to coordinate a gear donation tailored to their specific needs.
  • MEC will also make monetary donations to both the Orange Shirt Society and the Sníchim Foundation, a non-profit focused on revitalizing the language of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people.
  • Through MEC Outdoor Impact, we’re proud to support Spirit North as part of our commitment to Reconciliation. Spirit North empowers Indigenous youth to be unstoppable in sport and in life. Their programs are developed in co-creation with Indigenous communities for self-determination in health, sport, and play. As part of a long-term partnership, we support Spirit North with funding and gear donations.

Our continued commitments

MEC's journey towards Truth and Reconciliation continues. As part of our Outdoor Impact program, we’re committed to increasing equitable access to the outdoors through community programming, funding and gear donations. We also hold all our partners and collaborators accountable to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Truth and Reconciliation commitments.

For staffers, we continue to offer internal education, creating an educational hub to connect teams with relevant events and learning opportunities. While September 30 is not a nationwide statutory holiday, MEC was one of the first retailers to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a paid day of reflection and action, or a day of paid work.

In stores, we have Land Acknowledgement installations in all existing and future MEC stores and we give this acknowledgment at the start of all large gatherings. This is to recognize and respect Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories.

For the products we offer members, we’ve implemented guidelines for our merchandise and design teams to avoid cultural appropriation when sourcing and designing new products.

We’re proud of the work that's already been done and recognize it’s an ongoing journey. We’ll continue to take action in addressing reconciliation across the business, and we are dedicated to creating change that supports a more equitable and inclusive future.


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