THE GREEN LINE
DOCUMENTERS NOTES
Indigenous voices say Toronto’s Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee isn't doing enough
Indigenous advocates challenged the committee, demanding a voice on the Toronto Police Board, the creation of an Anti-Indigenous Racism Committee, and urgent action on housing and food insecurity to protect future generations.
The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee was held in Committee Room 1 at City Hall.
: Juan Rojas/Unsplash.
KAREN CHAN
Chinatown-based artist, graduate of University of British Columbia and bunny mom. Interested in storytelling to build community.
October 9, 2024
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Indigenous community members in Toronto urged for more frequent meetings and greater attention to issues such as representation, housing, food security and anti-Indigenous racism during the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee meeting on Oct. 8, 2024.
Around 25 people attended the meeting, which was held at Committee Room 1, including four in person and the remainder online. Elder Larry Frost opened the meeting with a smudge and closed with a prayer. He smudged everyone attending the meeting, including the attendees. Frost encouraged everyone to “walk in a good way and to sit in a circle to improve representation.”
The meeting was attended by:
- Chantell Barker, Executive Director, Aboriginal Legal Services (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Cynthia Bell, Executive Director of ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Cheryllee Bourgeois, Midwife, Seventh Generations Midwives Toronto (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Suzanne Brunelle, Senator, Toronto and York Region Metis Council (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Andrea Chrisjohn, Board Designate, Aboriginal Affairs Committee (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Ruth Green, Associate Professor of Indigenous Research, York University (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Larry Frost, elder, Executive Director, Native Canadian Centre of Toronto
- Miguel Avila-Velarde, Indigenous speaker from the community; Gary Wassaykeesic, Indigenous speaker from the community
- Richard Hunter, Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Paige Kimiksana-Kreps, Interim Secretary-Treasurer, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
- Millie Knapp, Executive Director, Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Nancy Martin, Executive Director, Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment & Training (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Keith McCrady, Executive Director, 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Kate Bassil, Chief of staff, City of Toronto
- Angus Palmer, General Manager, Wigwamen Incorporated (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Patti Pettigrew Executive Director, Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Crystal Samms, Chair of the Board, Gabriel Dumont Non-Profit Homes Inc. (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Frances Sanderson, Executive Director, Nishnawbe Homes Inc. (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Tanya Senk, Centrally Assigned Principal, Toronto District School Board - Urban Indigenous Education Centre (UIEC) (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
- Laura Suthers, Program Manager, Ojibikaan Indigenous Cultural Centre (Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee)
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
An overview of the current Terms of Reference (TOR) and Simplified Rules of Procedure, which will govern their Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee meetings going forward.
What did members of the community have to say?
The committee voiced that five meetings each year were not enough to address all the relevant issues. The committee achieved a consensus to meet more “more than six and less than 12” times in a year.
Miguel, an Indigenous community member, voiced that the committee might listen to Indigenous people, but that it won’t result in change.
- He said the Toronto Police Board should have Indigenous representation and the city should have an Anti-Indigenous Racism Committee.
- Miguel presented to the committee, and showed a photo of his family. He encouraged the committee to change the status quo.
- He said Indigenous people are often incarcerated, and this needs change to improve outcomes for his children. His hope was to represent a voice for children.
Gary, an Indigenous community member, said decisions should be made from the perspective of “nothing about us without us,” and Indigenous voices should be at the table.
- He spoke of economic genocide and the need to include housing, access to shelter and food for Indigenous people.
- He accused the committee of being elite Indigenous and not representative of the people of the street. Chantell Barker, executive director of Aboriginal Legal Services and a member of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, took issue with this and stated the mandate of her organization was to meet people seen as “the other.”
- The moderator permitted Gary to speak for longer than the allotted five minutes.
Ultimately, the committee agreed to:
- Meet more often and to have Frances Sanderson as interim chair.
- Share biographies of committee members, so they can be more approachable to the public.
- Advance city relations with Indigenous agencies.
- Address social determinants such as housing/shelter and food in future dialogues.
- Open and close meetings with Indigenous customs, such as smudging and prayers.
What was the outcome of this motion?
The motions to adopt the Terms of Reference (TOR) and the Simplified Rules of Procedure were amended and adopted.
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