Authorization to enter into a nominal fee Licence Agreement with the Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin and ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency for the use of the Modern Kitchen Facility at Fort York National Historic Site - by Councillor Michael Thompson, seconded by Councillor Gary Crawford

The Economic Development and Culture division, through its Museums and Heritage Services section, has long used food to support community development and health through Farmer's Markets, foodways programming, community gardens and kitchens. As an extension of this programming, Economic Development and Culture was supportive of the use of Fort York's kitchen to serve Indigenous Elders and families, during the pandemic and after. As of February 9, 2021 Fort York National Historic Site restarted its commercial kitchen facility to operate as an essential food service by entering into a nominal fee Use of Space Agreement with Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin. By the end of 2021, Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin had served 20,075 meals to food insecure members of their community. Economic Development and Culture staff and Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin want to continue the program using the Fort York commercial kitchen. Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin will also have a trustee, ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency, a non-profit corporation that will also be part of the project and have certain obligations under the proposed licence agreement with the City. City Council approval is required to enter into a new licence agreement with Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin for a one year term effective July 4, 2022. City staff plans to take a report to the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee and City Council regarding the long term development of a relationship between the City and Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin that will be brought forward in the next term of Council, before the licence agreement expires. City Council approval is also required to ratify the previous use of space agreement between the City and Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin retroactive to February 9, 2021. The project directly contributes to a number of specific actions of the City's proposed Reconciliation Action Plan including: Support and Co-develop Indigenous Placemaking and Placekeeping throughout the City; Improve Access to Traditional Foods and Medicines with Indigenous Peoples; and Return Land and Stewardship Rights to Indigenous Communities, Collectives, and Organizations. Colonialism and dispossession have marginalized Indigenous Peoples from their lands, cultures, and ways of life. Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People) promotes community based Indigenous Food Sovereignty and an awareness of Indigenous cultures and mutual understanding between people centered on a shared appreciation of nature, food and land. It also provides opportunities for the promotion of Indigenous Peoples health and well-being, the utilization of traditional spaces to practice cultural knowledge and the creation of spaces for ceremonies. The City is entering into the agreement with Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People), as full acknowledgement of the significant services/contribution to the project. This Motion is urgent because City Council approval is required to enter into a new licence agreement with a community-based organization for a one year term effective July 4, 2022. City Council approval is also required to ratify the previous use of space agreement between the City and Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin retroactive to February 9, 2021.

the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture or designate, to enter into and execute on behalf of the City of Toronto, a nominal fee licence agreement with Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People) and ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency for the use of the Modern Kitchen Facility at Fort York National Historic Site for the purpose of providing traditional Indigenous food services for a one year term expiring on July 4, 2023, with an option for renewal on such terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture in consultation with the City Solicitor.