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SAINT-EUSTACHE, Que. — The federal government will move forward to create a statutory holiday dedicated to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

The holiday will be aimed at remembering the legacy of residential schools and reflecting on a path toward reconciliation, he said in Saint-Eustache, Que.

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“Over the past decades, generations, and centuries, Canada failed in one of its fundamental commitments to respect and be partners of the Indigenous People who lived on this land for millennia,” he said.

“We broke that relationship, we failed to uphold the honour of the Crown and, more than that, we did our best to try to erase Indigenous cultures with such projects as residential schools.”

He said the government is currently consulting with First Nations, Inuit and Metis groups to choose an appropriate date and to decide how the holiday should be framed.