On August 1, 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act ended over 250 years of enslavement throughout the British Empire. This freedom was not granted; it was fought for through decades of resistance by enslaved people, abolitionists, and allies who refused to accept that human beings could be property.
Across what is now Canada, newly freed communities immediately organized celebrations that became powerful acts of resistance against ongoing racism and segregation. These Emancipation Day events strengthened Black communities, exposed injustice, and celebrated hard-won freedom while fighting for true equality.
To our Black members: this day honours your ancestors' struggle and recognizes your continued fight against systemic barriers. Your presence in the federal public service carries forward that legacy of breaking down walls and demanding justice.
At PIPSC, we represent the professionals who preserve our nation's memory – including the archivists and researchers in the Research (RE) Group at institutions like Library and Archives Canada. These dedicated public servants know a troubling truth: when budget cuts come, it's rarely the stories of the powerful that disappear first. It's the testimonies of enslaved people, the records of Indigenous resistance, and the documentation of marginalized communities fighting back.
This erasure is not accidental. Throughout history, controlling the narrative has meant controlling the future. When we underfund archival work, we participate in a deliberate act of forgetting that serves only those who benefit from injustice.
The celebrations that began in 1834 continue today because communities understood that remembering is survival. Our members who preserve these records don't just catalogue documents – they wage a daily battle against historical erasure, ensuring that voices silenced in life are not silenced again in death.
A Call to Action:
On this Emancipation Day, PIPSC calls on all our members – Black members and allies alike – to join us in defending the institutions and professionals who safeguard marginalized voices. Whether you work in archives, research, policy, or any other field, you have a role to play:
- advocate for adequate funding for historical preservation and research
- support your colleagues who do this vital work
- speak up when you see attempts to minimize or erase difficult histories
- remember that preserving truth is an act of resistance
The freedom achieved on August 1, 1834, came through collective action. Protecting the record of that struggle – and all struggles for justice – requires collective action too.
PIPSC stands with all our members in this essential fight to ensure that no voice is lost to history.