Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee
The full agenda, as filed
All 6 items in the clerk’s order. Each carries the city’s own words: the staff recommendation, what the body decided, and its status. Nothing below is written by us.
AA6.1received
Indigenous Affairs Office - Update
Selina Young, Director, Indigenous Affairs Office, City of Toronto, will give an update on the Indigenous Affairs Office.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee received the item for information.
AA6.2deferred
Indigenous Community Safety and Mental Health Responses in Toronto
Within the context of current discussions related to persistent structural racism within police service nationally and discussions about the reallocation of funds to enable community responses, we, as the Co-Chairs of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, would like to table a discussion on possibilities for Indigenous community safety and mental health responses in Toronto. We recognize that a variety of programs and responses may be necessary to improve community safety and responses to mental health concerns for Indigenous communities across Toronto. We would like to have a discussion with the Committee and receive presentations from organizations working with Indigenous communities to develop pilots, programs, and/or other potential responses. We would also like to have a presentation from the Indigenous Affairs Office on how it will support the Committee to work with City staff and City Council to identify the resources necessary to fund Indigenous-led responses to community safety and mental health in Toronto.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee: 1. Deferred consideration of the item until the next meeting of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee recommends to the Executive Committee that: 1. City Council request the Director, Indigenous Affairs Office, to work with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and other relevant City staff and divisions, and report to the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee at its meeting on October 13, 2020 on a process to identify funding needs and sources to fund Indigenous-led responses to community safety and mental health in Toronto.
AA6.3deferred
Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021
Joe Sellors, Project Manager, Economic Development and Culture, will give a presentation on Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021 - and provide an update on projects that will acknowledge the Indigenous history, present and future of the land they are situated on; self-determination, freedom of expression, equitable access to resources, and greater influence over public art practices; and that Indigenous communities and creators must be at the centre of the decision-making process for any Indigenous-focused project.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee: 1. Deferred consideration of the item until the next meeting of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee.
AA6.4received
Cheryl Blackman, Director, Museums and Heritage Services, Economic Development and Culture, and Wayne Reeves, Chief Curator, Collections and Curatorial, Economic Development and Culture, will give a presentation on the Dundas Street renaming, including a review of briefing note and possible next steps, and seek input from Committee members.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee received the item for information.
AA6.5received
Donald Corbiere, Indigenous Affairs Consultant, Indigenous Affairs Office, and Narina Nagra, Equity and Diversity Consultant, People and Equity, will give a presentation on the Data for Equity Strategy, including a discussion on the idea of creating a circle of First Nation, Inuit and Métis (FNIM) leaders and persons to support City of Toronto's Divisions in engagement, partnership, and collecting/use of FNIM/Two-Spirit data.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee received the item for information.
AA6.6received
With the launch of the Indigenous Affairs Office we see new capacity to have discussions around how the City works with Indigenous organizations to address protests and encampments lead by Indigenous community members. We are particularly concerned about protests and encampments in which community members voice their concerns in ways that create issues of health and safety for community members attempting to access services at Indigenous agencies. We are further concerned about the use of fires at these protests and encampments which are being called "sacred fires," but do not meet the community standards and protocols to be classified as such. We propose that the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee discuss the following: 1. How various Indigenous agencies can work with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Police Service to establish a table or task force to address protests and encampments that create health and safety concerns for community members attempting to access services. 2. How various Indigenous agencies can work with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Fire Services to develop a definition of what constitutes a "sacred fire", and protocols and procedures around how to deal with fires at protests and encampments that do not meet this definition.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee received the item for information.