At the AGM of the Adoption Council of Ontario on Sept 29, 2021, we shared an apology with our Indigenous partners and all Indigenous people.
Today we reflect, honour and are present with all Indigenous children, youth, adults, families and communities who walk and have walked this land. The ACO knows that intentions are not enough, and as we stated in our apology last year, we also recognize that this shame belongs to all of us, and with an apology must come a very different level of awareness and responsibility.
Last year we apologized for the role that ACO may have played in adoption and intergenerational trauma, knowingly or unknowingly. We stated we would take responsibility and take steps toward reparation. As an organization, we have undertaken sensitivity and awareness training. We are applying that knowledge to our processes and webinars, modifying them when we identify the ways we have replicated colonization. We have opened dialogue between us and our Indigenous partners to have relationships in a good way. The ACO will continue on this journey towards healing and mutual respect.
