RRC Polytech hosted manufacturers, exporters, educators and partners from across Canada last week when the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) held its Advanced Manufacturing Summit at the Notre Dame Campus.

The one-day summit offered businesses the chance to connect with one another, explore growth opportunities and problem solve in the ever-changing technology world all while highlighting RRC Polytech’s nimble response to industry needs.  

“RRC Polytech is constantly tailoring curriculum to ensure that new hires have the skills they need to contribute immediately and that the current workforce has pathways to embrace emerging processes and technologies, along with shifting societal demands,” says Dr. Vikram Banthia, Director of the Price Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics at RRC Polytech, who was an event panelist.

The two recently announced degrees in the Price Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics are perfect examples of how RRC Polytech is adapting to meet industry needs and prepare students. Both new Bachelor of Technology degrees include research methods, Indigenous perspectives and Industry 4.0 technologies allowing learners to meet the growing workforce demands, fast-track their education and advance their careers.

RRC Polytech is uniquely positioned to bring together training, research and industry partners to help build a stronger manufacturing workforce. Summits like CME’s Advanced Manufacturing Summit create opportunities for those partnerships.

Manitoba manufacturing was also recognized as a steady economic driver.

“Manitoba’s manufacturing sector is one of the most diverse and resilient in the country. From food and beverage processing to aerospace transportation equipment and advanced machinery, Manitoba produces things that matter here and across the country. Things that move people, feed communities and support national security. While the sector is spread widely across the province, Winnipeg clearly sits at the heart of the sector,” says Mathew Wilson, Executive Vice President & COO, Canadian Manufacturing & Exporters

Attendees heard keynote presentations from Joel Semeniuk, President and CEO of Primal speak on What We Build Next: Canada’s Manufacturing Moment. From a builder perspective and historical lens, Sememiuk explored how advantages can come from expertise, infrastructure and the partnerships we build around technology.

Garry Roehr, President of AMT Robotics presented Why a Learning Organization is the Key to Successful Adoption of Technology offered the second keynote. He emphasized that the people that know the work best should be empowered to try better ways of doing things, seek solutions and work towards results that create long lasting results.

Exclusive facility tours and a panel discussion further allowed RRC Polytech to demonstrate the work being done to prepare students for what is ahead, along with practitioner-to-practitioner breakout sessions and a vendor exhibition hall.

To learn more about Price Institute programs and partnerships, visit rrc.ca/priceinstitute

Pictured above (L-R): Stephanie Fulford, Manager of Sustainability and Climate Strategy, RRC Polytech and Derek Earl, Founder, BizforClimate.

RRC Polytech has joined more than 270 Manitoba organizations in signing BizforClimate’s Climate Action Pledge. The pledge reflects RRC Polytech’s commitment to climate action across the institution, from operations and facilities to teaching and learning.

“The BizforClimate network brings together organizations that share common values and a vision for a more sustainable future. It means a lot to have RRC Polytech — a leader, an innovator and such a respected institution — endorse the Climate Action Pledge campaign,” said Derek Earl, Founder, BizforClimate.

Across industries and sectors, climate change is creating new challenges and redefining opportunities. A sustainability mindset and sustainable practices are no longer “nice to have,” they are essential. Consumers and partners increasingly want to support businesses and organizations that align with their values, including those taking action to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

“Signing the pledge reaffirms RRC Polytech’s commitment to advancing its sustainability goals. It also reinforces the institution’s responsibility to equip students with the knowledge, skills and mindset they need to address climate-related challenges in their future careers,” said Stephanie Fulford, Manager of Sustainability and Climate Strategy, RRC Polytech.

The signing took place at the “Made to Work Here: Sustainability in Manitoba’s Creative Industries” event at the Exchange District Campus. The event was hosted by RRC Polytech’s Shroeder Institute of Media Arts and Entertainment in collaboration with BizforClimate.

The two-part event invited students from Shroeder Institute programs to learn about key sustainability concepts in the creative sector. A panel discussion followed, featuring three industry leaders who shared real-world examples of sustainable practices.

“The event was a key opportunity to raise awareness of the environmental and climate impacts of the creative industries and highlight the importance of sustainability to business success and career development,” said Kirk Johnson, Dean, Business, IT, Creative Arts, Hospitality and Culinary Arts. “Through the knowledge shared and the act of signing the pledge, our hope is that students take tangible actions to bring sustainable practices into the workforce.”

Climate action is more than an environmental issue. It’s also an economic, workforce and innovation issue. It matters to RRC Polytech, its industry and community partners, employers, and government stakeholders. By reaffirming our shared commitment to sustainability, RRC Polytech and other BizforClimate signatories are demonstrating leadership in Manitoba and helping to advance awareness, conversation and action across sectors.

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how work is performed, decisions are made, and services are delivered across the economy. In all sectors, employers are looking for graduates who can work with AI while applying sound judgment, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making. 

This reality raises an important question for polytechnic institutions: How do we ensure graduates are prepared for an AI-enabled workforce when technology, workplace expectations, and required skills continue to evolve? 

At RRC Polytech, that question became a key focus of the Academic Programming Working Group, one of several working groups established through the institution’s 2025-26 AI Strategy. Through research and engagement with faculty, students, and industry partners, the group developed the AI Readiness in Academic Programs Initiative, a structured process that helps academic programs understand how AI is transforming their industries and identify opportunities to update curriculum accordingly. 

Research Points to a Growing Need for AI Readiness

Signal49’s report, Preparing an AI-Ready Workforce found that few institutions offer coordinated approaches to AI-related learning. Slow curriculum approval processes, inconsistent AI literacy, and challenges in scaling training create uneven student experiences and limit institutions’ ability to respond to workforce demands. 

At the same time, Canada’s federal government is calling for increased AI literacy and workforce preparedness. Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, emphasizes the need for Canadians to gain meaningful, career-relevant experience with AI and identifies post-secondary institutions as critical partners in preparing learners for changing workplaces. 

This research mirrors what RRC Polytech is hearing from its own community. In a 2025 RRC Polytech AI survey: 

• 72% of staff and faculty indicated that providing AI-related skills through coursework was important or very important 

• 70% of faculty reported that students were receiving only basic AI instruction or no AI instruction at all. 

• 78% of students indicated rarely or never doing instructor-directed AI related coursework. 

This incongruency illustrates a gap: staff and faculty recognize the importance of teaching students industry specific AI skills, but few have made the shift to adjusting curriculum. 

These findings reveal a clear opportunity. Employers increasingly expect AI-related knowledge and skills. Governments are prioritizing AI readiness. Faculty recognize the importance of preparing students for an AI-enabled workforce, and students have indicated a gap in AI skills. The response is to create a practical approach that allows academic programs to respond effectively as workforce needs continue to evolve. 

Addressing the AI Readiness Gap 

RRC Polytech is uniquely positioned to connect education and industry, so graduates achieve practical, field-specific knowledge that reflects the realities and opportunities of their chosen careers. 

The AI Readiness initiative provides a structured, evidence-informed process that helps academic programs examine how AI is affecting their specific discipline, engage industry partners in identifying emerging workforce expectations, and integrate relevant AI-related competencies into curriculum. These changes ensure that students develop both the technical and human skills to thrive in an AI-enabled rapidly changing world. 

AI Readiness in Academic Programs Initiative: How it Works 

The initiative follows a structured process that helps programs explore the impact of AI while maintaining academic governance requirements. Participating programs follow this framework:  

1. Explore an AI Impact Report to assess how AI is affecting the profession. 

2. Document current AI-related activities and identify additional opportunities for learning. 

3. Validate findings with industry and other interest holders such as credentialling bodies. 

4. Work through curriculum approval processes to formally update program information. 

The goals of the initiative are twofold: to improve visibility of existing and planned AI-related learning within programs and to develop sustainable approaches for ongoing industry-informed curriculum updates as AI continues to evolve. 

AI Impact Report: A Starting Point for Industry Discussion 

The AI Impact Report is a unique element of the initiative that involves prompting a large language model with a pre-designed prompt to generate an industry-specific scan of how AI is already affecting a profession and where it may create new opportunities to enhance work.  

Designed as a brainstorming tool, the report gives program chairs and instructors a starting point for discussion on the impact of AI on a given profession. Its findings are then validated through consultation with academic teams and industry partners, to ensure curriculum updates are grounded in both emerging AI trends and real workplace expectations. 

Phase 1: Pilot Programs 

The initiative launched as a pilot in Winter 2026 with five programs representing diverse industry contexts: 

• Nursing 

• Early Childhood Education 

• Teaching for Learning in Applied Education 

• Professional Sales and Strategic Marketing 

• Digital Media Design – Interaction Design and Development 

The pilot programs updated 19 courses, including changes to course descriptions and learning outcomes. Examples include Digital Media Design students using AI to support coding projects and evaluate its limitations; Early Childhood Education students examining responsible AI use in research and early learning environments; and Nursing students considering ethical AI use in scholarly writing and research. 

Phase 2: Expanding Across the Polytech 

Building on the success of the pilot, the initiative expanded during spring/summer 2026 to include an additional nine programs: 

• Business Administration 

• 3^rd & 4^th Class Power Engineering 

• Culinary Arts 

• Baking and Pastry Arts 

• Legal Assistant 

• Architectural Technology 

• Construction Management 

• Engineering and Construction Technologies 

AI Readiness means more than Technical Skills 

One of the key insights from the initiative is that AI readiness is more than learning to use AI tools. Industry partners consistently emphasize the importance of human skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and professional judgment. As AI becomes more integrated into the workplace, the ability to evaluate AI-generated content, manage risk, protect sensitive information, and make informed decisions aligned with regulations, ethics and standards becomes increasingly important. 

As a result, curriculum updates focus not only on how to use AI, but also on when to use it, and how to use it responsibly, considering privacy, academic integrity, bias, transparency, disclosure, and risk management. The initiative recognizes that the most valuable skill in a rapidly changing environment may be adaptability itself. 

Looking Ahead 

The long-term vision for the AI Readiness in Academic Programs Initiative is to create a sustainable, scalable process that supports continuous curriculum renewal as technology and workforce needs evolve. Future plans include expanding participation across additional program areas, strengthening industry partnerships, and developing toolkits so academic programs can regularly assess and update their own AI readiness. 

By helping students develop both AI-related competencies and adaptability to navigate continuous change, RRC Polytech is positioning graduates to succeed in an AI-enabled future while supporting Manitoba’s industries and economy. 

RRC Polytech’s AI Strategy is led by Rebecca Molly Hiebert. For more information visit rr.ca/artificial-intelligence.

RRC Polytech is introducing two new degree programs in Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics. These broadened learning experiences include a foundation in research methods and Indigenous worldviews, as well as Industry 4.0 technologies, to equip graduates with skills and confidence to take on increasing responsibility in the workplace.  

The move creates even more options for learners to meet growing workforce demands in key Manitoba industries, accelerate their education, and advance their careers. The Bachelor of Technology degrees are hosted by the Price Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics.  

Through a flexible 2+1 year degree-completion model, learners can build on their existing technical training, such as an engineering technology diploma, and earn a bachelor’s degree in as little as one additional year.  Full- and part-time completion options support the scheduling demands of working professionals looking to obtain a degree relevant to their field.  

“RRC Polytech has a long history of delivering high-quality applied education that responds directly to labour market needs,” said Fred Meier, President and CEO. “Diversifying our program offerings with these new degrees provides options for existing students, graduates, and mid-career professionals to access the applied and experiential learning that are sought after by industry and hallmarks of a polytechnic education. This is another important step on the path of responsive workforce development we’re building at RRC Polytech.” 

The flexible structure of RRC Polytech’s bachelor’s degree model allows learners to earn while they learn, upskill during their career by building on prior education and experience, and progress seamlessly from technical training to degree-level study. 

This new model responds to growing demand for post-secondary qualifications in Manitoba’s labour market: nearly 70 per cent of all job openings in the five years between 2025 and 2029 will require some form of post-secondary education. And it provides learners with another option along the continuum of engineering technology and engineering education provided by RRC Polytech and partners like the University of Manitoba.  

“Manufacturing is changing quickly,” says Jarvis Penner, Vice-President, Technology Services, Price Industries, and Chair of the Price Institute Advisory Board. “The people who will lead that change need to understand automation, data and digital technology, but also how to apply them to real manufacturing problems. The Bachelor of Technology degrees at RRC Polytech help build that combination of technical knowledge and practical thinking that industry needs.” 

Like all RRC Polytech graduates, Bachelor of Technology grads will bring a mix of practical, industry-ready skills and experiential learning to the workforce from day one. In addition, they will have the skills to develop intelligent solutions to optimize processes, understand customer needs, then translate them into the technical requirements for complex systems, and both foundational skills and experience in applied research. This will equip them to lead in the workplace with impactful decision-making.  

As demand for these graduates grows, demand for bachelor’s degree programs that align with industry needs, learner demands, and societal changes will grow in tandem. This will help RRC Polytech continue to meet learners and industry where they are at and keep Manitoba in front of what’s ahead.

Post-secondary institutions are being challenged to rethink long-standing approaches to assessments now that AI tools are readily available and can be easily used to complete tasks without revealing genuine student learning. At RRC Polytech, this reality sparked an important question: How can we ensure assessments continue to provide meaningful evidence of student learning in an AI-abundant context? 

This became a key focus of the Teaching and Learning AI Working Group, one of the cross-functional groups established through RRC Polytech’s AI Strategy. The result was the AI Assessment (Re)Design Lab, which helps instructors redesign assessments so students can demonstrate their learning authentically, and with integrity, in an AI-enabled world. 

Why Assessment Redesign Matters 

Authentic assessment, rather than AI detection, should be the primary focus of institutional responses to generative AI to provide evidence of student learning. At the University of Sydney, when describing their two-lane approach to assessment in the age of AI and later expanding this in the Sydney Assessment Framework, Liu and Bridgeman state that human-AI collaboration is becoming a regular part of learning. They emphasize that institutions must both support productive AI use and ensure students demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes while instructors evaluate both learning processes and final products. 

Similarly, Sarah Elaine Eaton’s work on assessment in the “post-plagiarism” era argues that institutions should move beyond approaches focused primarily on detecting academic integrity breaches. Instead, the focus should be on designing assessments that require students to evaluate AI outputs critically, identify limitations and bias, preserve their own voice, and demonstrate higher-order thinking, judgment, and synthesis to ensure students can use AI effectively while upholding academic integrity standards. 

Research also highlights the limitations of relying on AI detection tools. Lee and Palmer found that AI-generated writing could be modified in ways that significantly reduced detection results, raising concerns about the dependability of detection software. Meanwhile, Bridgeman, Liu, Brockley, and Bassett warn that AI detection tools can undermine trust between students and institutions caused by both false positives and false negatives. These findings suggest that surveillance-based approaches are unlikely to provide a sustainable solution to authentic assessment in an environment where students increasingly work with AI rather than without it. 

From Research to Practice: The AI Assessment (Re)Design Lab 

Taken together, this research highlights that as students increasingly use AI to generate text, solve problems, summarize information, and create content, assessment products may no longer provide sufficient evidence of what learners know and can do. Assessments may need to be redesigned to generate clear evidence of learning, support transparent AI use, strengthen assessment validity, and avoid detection-based approaches. The AI Assessment (Re)Design Lab was developed to help instructors respond to these challenges in practical and discipline-specific ways. The Lab encourages instructors to ask: 

• What evidence of learning am I collecting? 

• Are expectations of AI use clear and transparent? 

• Can students demonstrate evidence of understanding, critical thinking, reflection, process, and growth? 

• Do students understand how to act responsibly with sacred or protected knowledge in AI systems? 

• Does this assessment remain valid when AI is available? 

In practice, this often means redesigning assessments, so students demonstrate evidence of learning through multiple forms, such as oral explanations, debates, practical demonstrations, reflections, mini thesis defenses, or multiple revisions of written work.  

Drawing on their disciplinary expertise, instructors can select and adapt assessment approaches that best fit their learning outcomes and program context, while enhancing opportunities for students to demonstrate learning in authentic and meaningful ways. Using a variety of assessment methods helps support accessibility, reduce barriers, and provide richer evidence of student learning than any single assessment format alone. 

Lab Structure and Principles 

The AI Assessment (Re)Design Lab is a five-hour blended learning experience combining concise learning modules, facilitator-led discussions, small-group activities, and peer feedback. To deepen understanding of assessment best practices, participants review principles of constructive alignment and assessment design. Drawing on their expertise and the diverse needs of Polytech programs, instructors explore how to redesign assessments so students can demonstrate their learning when AI is readily available to strengthen evidence of learning and reduce academic integrity concerns. 

Early Momentum Across the Polytechnic 

Interest in the Lab has exceeded expectations. During Spring and Summer 2026, approximately 133 instructors participated in the first eight deliveries of the AI Assessment (Re)Design Lab. The impact, however, extends far beyond the number of participants. As instructors redesign assessments, students encounter clearer expectations of AI use, well-designed learning activities, and more meaningful opportunities to demonstrate what they know. These improvements influence courses and programs, helping build long-term institutional capacity to respond to the changing educational landscape. 

Expanding lab opportunities in Fall 2026 

The success of the initial offerings has generated significant interest across academic areas. Many Chairs and Associate Deans have requested cohort-based deliveries that allow groups of instructors to work through the redesign process in a shared context to identify common assessment challenges and develop more consistent approaches with expectations around AI use and evidence of learning. Additionally, in many cases, Chairs are also participating in the Labs alongside instructors, reinforcing the importance of this work. To meet this growing demand, eight additional Lab deliveries are planned for Fall 2026, expanding opportunities for participation across the Polytech. 

Ultimately, this Lab is not about responding to AI as a single technology. It is about strengthening all assessments for the future and ensuring that, as learning environments continue to evolve, students remain at the centre of the educational experience. 

RRC Polytech’s AI Strategy is led by Rebecca Molly Hiebert. For more information visit rr.ca/artificial-intelligence.

Winnipeg, Manitoba on Treaty No. 1 Territory – the lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anishininwak, Dakota Oyate, and Denésuline, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis  – 

RRC Polytech has been recognized as a leading institution for sustainability, earning the top spot in its category in the 2026 Sustainable Campus Index (SCI), published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). 

The annual SCI highlights top-performing post-secondary institutions based on results from AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), the world’s leading framework for measuring sustainability performance in higher education. 

RRC Polytech was ranked #1 Overall Top Performer among Associate and Short-Cycle Institutions reporting under STARS 3.0, achieving the highest score in its category featured in the 2026 SCI.

“This recognition demonstrates that sustainability is embedded throughout RRC Polytech – it’s an institution-wide achievement,” says Giselle Martel, Vice-President, Finance and Administration, RRC Polytech. “Ranking first in our category under STARS 3.0 is a tremendous accomplishment and reflects the dedication of people across our community who are advancing sustainability through teaching, learning, research, operations and community engagement every day.” 

The recognition builds on RRC Polytech’s strong sustainability performance, following its achievement of STARS Gold status in 2025. 

Submitted every three years, STARS helps post-secondary institutions evaluate and advance their performance across the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability. Achieving Gold status reflects a collaborative, campus-wide commitment to embedding sustainability into academics, operations, engagement, planning and innovation. 

In addition to its top overall ranking, RRC Polytech received two notable recognitions in the 2026 Sustainable Campus Index: 

• STARS of Data Accuracy: RRC Polytech’s high data accuracy rate placed it among the institutions with the fewest reporting issues between March 2024 and March 2026. The recognition highlights the contributions of STARS liaisons, data providers and employees across the Polytechnic who helped ensure the report’s accuracy and quality. 
• Institutional Highlight – Engagement: AASHE featured Mittohnee Pogo’ohtah and RRC Polytech’s partnership with Pow Wow Pitch as a leading example of sustainability-driven engagement. Originally submitted under the Innovation and Leadership category, the initiative was selected by AASHE for inclusion in the SCI’s Engagement highlights. 

RRC Polytech continues to advance sustainability through applied learning, research and innovation, responsible operations and community leadership. Sustainability-focused or sustainability-inclusive learning opportunities are available in every academic school, while initiatives across campuses promote environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and inclusive excellence. 

Learn more about the 2026 AASHE Sustainable Campus Index here. 

The following message includes content that may trigger strong emotions, especially for those with lived experience. It is recommended that we all check in on ourselves and access the resources available to us to ensure we are taking good care of our mental health. Access mental health and self-care resources here.

This Sunday, October 4, is the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S+).

This day comes just four days after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, when we remember and honour the Survivors of Residential Schools and those that never returned home.

The movement for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S+) highlights the ongoing consequences of colonialism, systemic racism, and discrimination in our communities. It brings attention to the circumstances that place Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people at disproportionate risks of violence, disappearance, and loss.

The Day of Action for MMIWG2S+ is a call to advocate for justice, accountability, and lasting change. It affirms that Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people deserve the same safety, dignity, and opportunities to thrive as all people.

In 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls published the final report, Reclaiming Power and Place, which asserts 231 Calls to Justice that address issues which accumulate into dangerous situations. The Final Report draws on the testimonies of over 2,380 family members, survivors of violence, experts, and Knowledge Keepers collected through two years of nationwide hearings and evidence gathering.

Call to Justice 11.1 calls on educational institutions to raise awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S+), including the systemic and historical factors that contribute to violence against Indigenous Peoples. It stresses the importance of Indigenous-led education that reflects Indigenous histories, perspectives, laws, and ways of knowing. Because of the violence Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit people face and the subsequent lack of response from the justice system, it is our responsibility as a post-secondary institution to raise awareness of the historical precedents and patterns that have persisted through our nation’s history.

This past year, RRC Polytech and the Campus Store partnered with Ininew artist Heather Endall to create the 2026 Red Shirt design for MMIWG2S, the proceeds of which go to the Mínwastánikéwin Truth and Reconciliation Award for Indigenous students. The bursary, valued at $1,000, aims to alleviate some financial stress for Indigenous students. The shirts are produced and ordered through Red Rebel Armour, owned and operated by RRC Polytech alum Sean Rayland-Boubar.

This October 4, we encourage you to view resources available through the Library, like Felicia Solomon’s Story, and Tina Fontaine: A Murdered Girl’s Legacy from CBC Curio; and films through the National Film Board like Finding Dawn, The Red Dress, and this river.

The Government of Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls always has free resources available, including direct access to the Final Report itself.

Many Indigenous organizations have additional programs that support the National Inquiry and education on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People like the Southern Chiefs’ Organization Inc. MMIWG2S and Violence Prevention and The Highway of Tears Initiative.

This observance may be emotionally taxing, especially for Indigenous students and employees. Please remember that outside of formal events in which they agree to participate, Indigenous community members may decline discussing this observance because of its emotional and cultural impact.

The flags on campus have been lowered in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and will remain lowered through the weekend to observe the National Day of Action for MMIWG2S+.

Join RRC Polytech’s Price Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics as we host the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Advanced Manufacturing Summit on Wednesday, October 7. 

October 7, 2026 | 8:15 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. 
RRC Polytech – North Gym, 2055 Nore Dame Ave., Winnipeg, MB   

Click here for more summit details and to register.  

This full-day summit will explore technologies reshaping manufacturing, connect manufacturing leaders from across the prairies and offer breakout sessions and plant tours that meet your priorities.  

Hear keynote presentations from Joel Semeniuk, President and CEO of Primal where he will address What We Build Next: Canada’s Manufacturing Moment, and from Gerhard Roehr, President of AMT Robotics as he presents on Why a Learning Organization is the Key to Successful Adoption of Technology.  

The day will also feature a panel discussion on how to build the next workforce for manufacturing and feature a vendor exhibition hall.  

The following message includes content that may trigger strong emotions, especially for those with lived experience. It is recommended that we all check in on ourselves and access the resources available to us to ensure we are taking good care of our mental health. Access mental health and self-care resources here. 

Tomorrow, September 30th, is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which grew from the Indigenous-led grassroots movement, Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters. The flags on RRC Polytech Campuses are lowered today and tomorrow as the Polytech observes Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Despite its status, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not just another holiday. It’s an opportunity to pause our typical routines to reflect and learn. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation brings to light everything that was taken from Indigenous Peoples through the horrific history of the Canadian Residential School System: culture and traditions, family, language, and sovereignty. 

Visibility of support is essential. It affirms the truths of Survivors, their families and communities. Wearing an Orange Shirt sends a message, and healing happens when the whole community says: ‘I see you.’ Affirming the truth is essential to walk the path of reconciliation. 

Orange shirts designed by Indigenous artists are available to purchase at the Campus Store year-round at RRC Polytech. Every design holds a story from the perspective of each artist that reflects on the meaning of Truth and Reconciliation, the legacy of Residential and Day School Survivors, and healing from the intergenerational effects of trauma through community. 

All proceeds from Orange Shirt Sales will support the Mínwastánikéwin Truth and Reconciliation Award when applications open in January 2027. Mínwastánikéwin is an Ininimowin word meaning to set it right – the award, valued at $1,000, aims to alleviate some of the financial burden Indigenous students experience each year. 

Peatr Thomas, who designed the first Orange Shirt in 2022, said that the first design encourages us to “remember and pay tribute to the young ones lost. Remember to honour the survivors.” Each design since then has paid homage to the sentiment in their own ways. 

Since 2023, the shirts have been produced in partnership with Red Rebel Armour, owned and operated by Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship grad Sean Rayland-Boubar of Peguis First Nation. 

Staff and students are encouraged to wear Orange Shirt on campus today to demonstrate your commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. Take the opportunity this week to participate in community events tomorrow or join us at any one of the events hosted on campus today, Thursday, and Friday. 

The flags on campus will be lowered today in observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and will remain lowered in observance of the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People on October 4. 

Take good care of yourself and those around you and remember to reach out for support if you need it. 

Jamie Wilson on behalf of RRC Polytech Executive

Taylor McArthur (Niná wašte šiyo poǧa hą́ska wíya/hummingbird woman) is a Nakoda digital artist from Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation. Her Digital Mural, “Where we meet, again,” is on display at RRC Polytech’s Exchange District Campus for the duration of Culture Days.

“This permanent installation combines elements of the unseen, felt and 3D to define a dream-like space where time is not bound by one construct,” says McArthur.

The use of the Elgin Plaza space was intentional, meant as a meeting point and gathering area where viewers are invited to pause, reflect, and slow down.

“I am often inspired by my dreams and elements within them and my engagement with the natural world around me,” continues McArthur.

“Dreams are not fantasy but rather a living realm. I wanted to highlight this as a form of resistance and survival to challenge the colonial ideas of linear time to allow for the expression of fluidity. The warm hazy glow and the absence of a defined setting moves us away from these colonial constructs of hierarchy and ownership over land. By placing these elements in a floating and undefined space this acknowledges that relations with the human world are not bound to a physical geography but rather can exist in memory, stories and dreams.

wâhkôhtowin in Cree relationality highlights the delicate and cyclical balance between life.

These spirals represent life force and energy. The light is scattered and flows between and within. This choice was not metaphorical; it represents the connectedness.”

To learn more, please click here.

This is not the Polytech’s only involvement in Culture Days – RRC Polytech students recently learned video mapping for a Nuit Blanche projection. Click here to learn more.