Title
Treaty 6 Acknowledgment and Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada - Calls to Action
Proposed Motions
1. That Committee of the Whole receive the Administrative Report for information, as presented.
2. That Administration be directed to contact First Nations and Metis organizations with a presence in, or adjacent to, Parkland County to discuss appropriate language Parkland County can use at the start of its meetings to acknowledge Treaty 6 and the important historic and contemporary relationship between First Nations, Metis and municipal government.
3. That Administration be directed to participate in the New Beginnings initiative along with Spruce Grove and Stony Plain.
Body
Administration Recommendation
Administration supports the proposed motions.
Purpose
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was created following the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Through that agreement the Government of Canada settled class action law suits brought on behalf of the thousands of people removed from their families as children and placed in residential schools by the Government of Canada. In 2015 the TRC issued the report Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future and made a number of Calls to Action. Administration’s initial review of the report found 7 of the 94 Calls to Action that refer directly to municipalities, and others may be actionable by municipalities as the order of government most capable of responding.
Summary
Responding to the Calls to Action will be part of a journey. A first step may be to acknowledge at the start of Council meetings that the meeting is taking place on Treaty 6 lands and is the traditional territory of First Nations and Metis. Administration suggests the acknowledgment be discussed with neighbouring First Nations and Metis organizations.
Strategic Plan/Policy/Legal/Staff Implications:
Pillar 1: Complete Communities