Dollarama Is Removing Indigenous Halloween Costume From Ontario Stores After Backlash
"Unfortunately, it was inadvertently added to the shipment."
A Dollarama in Hawkesbury, Ontario, is facing backlash on social media for selling an Indigenous "Dream Catcher Cutie" Halloween costume.
One Twitter user posted a picture of the costume, writing, "seriously Dollarama!! Less than one week after the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, you still sell racist halloween costumes in your stores! Seen in Hawkesbury, Ontario."
Seriously Dollarama!! Less than one week after the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, you still sell racist halloween costumes in your stores! Seen in Hawkesbury, Ontario pic.twitter.com/O0pDVxaisO
— Eric Barrette (@EricBarrette1) October 5, 2021
The first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation took place on September 30 and "honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities," according to the Government of Canada.
A spokesperson for Dollarama told Narcity in a statement that the costumes will be removed from store shelves.
The company says that the product was "inadvertently added to the shipment of a broad assortment of costumes" and that "Dollarama had not ordered this model."
"The availability of this product in our stores was very recently brought to our attention and I can confirm that we are removing it from store shelves wherever it was available," the statement adds.
Dollarama did not confirm how many stores the costume was available at.
"Making sure that our company's values of diversity and inclusiveness are reflected in everything that we do – including the products we procure and offer our customers from all walks of life – is very important to us."