Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
DAY OF PINK EVENT
Dakota Collegiate
Monday, April 7, 2025, 12:30 p.m.
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Students, educators and advocates for rights and dignity – it’s a pleasure to be with you here at Dakota Collegiate to learn and share at this Day of Pink gathering.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I would first like to acknowledge that we are gathered in the heart of Treaty One land and that our province is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Anishininew (ANISH-IN-INEW), Cree, Dakota, Dene, Nehetho (NE-HET-HO) Nation and the homeland of the Red River Métis; and on lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
Manitobans respect the spirit and intent of treaties and treaty-making and remain committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.
In all of our society’s efforts to build a more just world, beginning with truth is essential.
We need to know about the good and the bad, about our successes and our failings. We want Canadians to have the opportunity to learn about their country and its actions, past and present.
And so this annual Day of Pink – which was born nearly 20 years ago in response to an incident of homophobic schoolyard bullying – is important.
And by focusing this day on key milestones – like the legal action to stop the LGBT Purge in Canada’s Armed Forces – gives us an opportunity to learn and commit to progress.
As individuals and as a society we need to be able to look in the mirror and acknowledge where we need to improve.
Each of you has a role to play in that. All of us – you, your teachers, me – have all had the experience of being excluded, feeling as if we didn’t fit in. And all of us have witnessed others being excluded, whether in a casual social setting or in a more systematic form of exclusion.
I urge you to take that experience along with the knowledge you gain today and take action.
You have the power to make change through your words and actions – whether it is at your school, in your social circle or at work. We have all heard of “The Power of One”. And soon you’ll have that power through your vote.
Use that power! Use that power to make a better, more inclusive world.
To all of the students and staff here as part of the Louis Riel School Division and to all of those organizers at Pink Shirt Day, thank you for building a community committed to learning, to caring and to making change.
May the learning of this day stay with you and guide you on your way forward.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
