The staff involved in a racist incident while students participated in an Indigenous smudging ceremony at a south Edmonton school last week have been fired.
On Friday, students and staff were conducting a smudging ceremony on the basketball court at Edith Rogers School. The school says nearby construction workers swore and yelled racial slurs while they revved their engines in an attempt to disrupt the ceremony.
The ceremony was done as a part of a commitment to truth and reconciliation, according to Edmonton Public Schools.
The dry pond project near the school is run by utility company EPCOR, which halted work at the site in order to investigate the incident.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, EPCOR said the actions were attributed to employees of sub-contractor Wilco Contractors Northwest Inc.
A statement from the construction company said it let down the community last Friday, adding the staff involved in the incident have been terminated. The statement did not say how many staff members were involved in the incident. Global News has reached out to the company for further comment on the incident.
“We apologize unreservedly to the students and staff who were hurt by these actions. We take full responsibility for what occurred, and we are taking concrete action to ensure this never happens again,” the company said.
“Racism will not be tolerated.”
The company said it is committed to implementing cultural and Indigenous awareness training for its staff.
Wilco Contractors Northwest Inc., EPCOR and Sureway Construction Group — which is also doing work at the site — said they will jointly donate $30,000 to the Edmonton Public School Board’s amiskwaciy Academy.
“We are apologizing directly to all those who were harmed by this incident,” Wilco’s statement read.
“The hurt experienced by the students and staff is front of mind for us, and we hope the actions we are taking demonstrate to them how seriously we take this situation.”
In its statement, EPCOR said it does not condone racism or hate of any kind and thanked the students and staff who brought the incident to its attention.
“Their actions to speak up against racism are commendable,” the statement read.
“We are mindful that racism and prejudice towards Indigenous peoples continues to happen every day in our communities. It is incumbent on all of us to take action. We sincerely apologize to the students and staff who were harmed by this disrespectful act, and we again thank them for speaking up. Without their action, this conduct might have gone unaddressed. Their voices mattered.”