Remarks by Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer, Colette Murphy, during a recommitment ceremony for the Philanthropic Community’s Declaration of Action on September 24, 2025. The ceremony took place at the All My Relations Gathering convened by The Circle on Philanthropy in Vancouver.
I’m grateful to Kris Archie and her team for bringing all of us together here on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. I’ve come from Toronto, the place that used to be widely known as Tkaranto, the treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as well as the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples.
The Atkinson Foundation was established 83 years ago by the publisher of the Toronto Star, Joseph Atkinson. His family was uprooted by labour strife from England’s Cumberland Hills in the 1840s. They settled on the least arable land stolen from Indigenous people through colonization—along Lake Ontario among the Mississaugas. His father John died when Joe was an infant, leaving his mother Hannah to raise eight children on her own. She died when he was 14. These early experiences of loss, poverty and hardship set his heart and mind on a vision for a more equal and just society—one in which everyone looks out for each other, and a good life is not determined by luck or chance.
The way I see it, the Board and staff of Joe Atkinson’s foundation inherited more than the money he made building the Toronto Star into a successful national media company. We also inherited his vision, and his unshakeable belief that deep systemic and structural change is possible.
I want to recommit to living into the spirit of The Declaration today.
Ten years ago, the Atkinson Foundation made a commitment to do this. We were not among the signatories to The Declaration but we were in essential agreement with its principles. We stood apart and remained in relationship with everyone who was on a path to repair and reconcile with Indigenous peoples, organizations and movements.
Our path began long before I became Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer. And before Board and staff members – then and now – were committed to moving forward together in word and action.
Today, we hold ourselves accountable to the Toronto Purchase Treaty and for learning through action everyday. We have publicly stated our belief that colonization is an economic project led by the settler state and based on land theft. Our commitment to Indigenous justice is rooted in three core values that drive our organizational strategy. They are also the basis for organizational policies. These values are kinship, equity and accompaniment.
It took many conversations over many years for us to articulate this commitment. And many more before we had made the necessary structural changes to our organization. These conversations took place within our foundation, with Indigenous partners, and within the national learning community convened by the Circle for members like you and me.
In between these meetings, we did what we could. There were demands on our time and resources that seemed endless and often competed. We worried that we were not doing enough or any of it well. We were inspired by what others were doing and encouraged to keep trying. We never ceased to be surprised by what we were learning about Joseph Atkinson and his times, ourselves and each other, and the egregious power of white supremacy. Mostly, we felt privileged to form real relationships with Indigenous leaders and to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from solidarity and pursuing justice.
We could not have discovered the depth of our commitment or our agency, without the generosity, hospitality and wisdom of The Circle and other members with whom we’ve been learning and taking action. We would not have arrived where we are today alone.
In this autumn season, we’re ready to harvest what we have learned from using our power as a shareholder to ask the TMX Group to commit to an Indigenous Inclusion and Reconciliation plan four years ago – a plan that will be shared on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange tomorrow. It was the first successful proposal of this type in North American and owes its success to the leadership of the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative.
We’re also ready to harvest what we have learned from delving deep into the story of our wealth and coming alongside the Yellowhead Institute to help them realize their dream of the Yellowhead School.
And in this season of letting go, we’re ready to transfer a portion of our endowment to one or more Indigenous-led entities. We’ll do this while we continue to leverage our assets and direct other resources toward a collective vision of liberation.
We’re scattering the seeds of what we’ve learned so far, knowing they will germinate over the winter. By springtime, we’ll have a better sense of what we must do next.
But right now I know one thing for sure: the Atkinson Board and staff are ready to recommit to working with all of you to shift our philanthropic power in moral, practical and permanent ways. And to hold everyone who represents us in Canada’s legislatures and courts to account for their commitments in our name: specifically, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
And speaking of holding our own and others’ feet to the fire, I’d like to offer a poem by the late Lee Maracle from her book Hope Matters. Lee wrote this book with her daughters Columpa Bobb and Tania Carter. They wove their voices together to create a harvest bonfire of hope — just as we are doing today. The poem is called Justice is an Ember.
Justice is an Ember
Justice is an ember,
Burning slow and easy
A fire, filled with hope
Hope for our humanity
We stand in the centre
Of a sphere, earth beneath
Sky world above
Humans all around us
Our fire seeks relations
With all beings
Justice calls us to burn
Brightly together
Justice is a song
Sounding our voice
For humanity
For life, for love
Let our songs ring out
Let our fire burn
Let our humanity ring
Our prayers of hope
I cradle this ember
Call you to receive it
Hold it up toward the heavens
Bind myself to all
Photo: The Circle on Philanthropy’s Chief Executive Officer Kris Archie speaking at the recommitment ceremony.