UAS Plan Final - CNFC (3).pdf · 27,!2015.!On!December!17,!2015asummation!session!was!convened!to!seek!final!revisions ... Conclusively,! the! 2015/16! UAS! planning! initiative!

Education and Employment Action Plan

2015/16 Edmonton UAS Community Plan -‐ Page i

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EDMONTON'COMMUNITY'PLAN'URBAN'ABORIGINAL'STRATEGY'

PREPARED'BY:'IN'SYNCH'CONSULTING'INC.'DECEMBER'2015'

Prepared'for:''Canadian'Native'Friendship'Centre'

2015/16 Edmonton UAS Community Plan -‐ Page ii

Disclaimer This document has been prepared as a result of a request for services. It is noted that the information presented herein is for the purposes of brevity and reflective of time limitations in collecting, analyzing, and summarizing the data available. Ideally, this type of investigative and strategic planning would require greater in-‐depth research however time and financial restraints were imposed. This document contains the intellectual property and methodology used by the Project Consultant as well as confidential information provided by multiple Community Stakeholders. As such, this plan/report is intended for the Community Stakeholders to assist with their respective internal planning, or, as required, for reporting purposes. The Project Consultants do not assume any responsibility or liability for losses occasioned to CNFC and/or Community Stakeholders or any other parties as a result of the circulation, publication, reproduction, or use of the documents. Furthermore, the Project Consultant has no future obligation to update this document.

2015/16 Edmonton UAS Community Plan -‐ Page iii

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 1 Background .............................................................................................................................. 4 UAS 2015/16 Community Planning ................................................................................................. 4

Collaborative Facilitation Effort with End Poverty Edmonton ..................................................... 5 2015/16 Plan Foundation is Built From the Prior Fiscal-‐Year Process ............................................ 6 Participation Summary .......................................................................................................... 10 Synergy Between EPE and UAS .............................................................................................. 11 Significant EPE Comments ............................................................................................................. 13 Converging thoughts about implementation ................................................................................ 14 Action Planning ...................................................................................................................... 15 EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN ................................................................................ 16 Potential Education and Employment Projects ............................................................................. 19

Project: School Access for all Children & Adult Learners ........................................................... 21 Project: Historical Recognition and Education .......................................................................... 23 Project: Public Education ......................................................................................................... 25 Project: Leadership Development ............................................................................................ 27 Project: Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) ...................................................... 28

HOUSING ACTION PLAN ................................................................................................................ 30 Potential Housing Projects ............................................................................................................ 31

Project: Housing for Homeless as a Basic Need ....................................................................... 32 Project: Application to Connect Clients to all Aboriginal Services and Housing ....................... 33 Project: Coordination to provide sustainable and appropriate funding for development of indigenous housing projects ..................................................................................................... 34 Project: Seniors Housing .......................................................................................................... 36 Project: Connect all the agencies/organizations to one another .............................................. 38

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES ACTION PLAN ................................................................................. 40 Potential Child and Family Services Projects ................................................................................. 42

Project: Creation of Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) .................................... 43 Project: Creation of Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) .................................... 44 Project: Supports to Family ...................................................................................................... 45 Project: Education .................................................................................................................... 46 Project: Affordable breakfast/lunch programs ......................................................................... 47 Project: Informed Policy and Practices for Trauma ................................................................... 49 Project: Wellness and Cultural Centre (with hub) ..................................................................... 51

Discussion References ............................................................................................................ 53 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 57 Addendum Next Steps ........................................................................................................... 58

2015/16 Edmonton UAS Community Plan -‐ Page 1

Executive Summary During the 2014/15 fiscal year the Canadian Native Friendship Centre (CNFC) hosted a one time consultative event on March 15, 2015 which included participation from a wide variety of agencies. Although a typical planning process was not employed, the one-‐time event attempted to garner answers to the following key questions:

• Where are we now? • What do we have to work with? • Where do we want to be in the future?

As follow up from that event, CNFC coordinated the 2015/16 Urban Aboriginal Strategies (UAS) planning. Similarly timed, End Poverty Edmonton (EPE) released its strategy documents and began next steps in seeking community feedback. Due to the collaborative possibilities amongst multiple levels of government including INAC, the City of Edmonton, and the Province of Alberta the 2015/16 UAS Community planning in Edmonton commenced with CNFC as the host. The planning events were therefore aimed at finding convergent ideas and synergies while still attempting to garner any variation, spring-‐boarding and/or diversity in planning approaches. These are characterized in the efforts of multiple levels of government alongside with service providers, stakeholders, and participants. Although this community plan is developed by CNFC, the collaborative planning agencies included:

• INAC/AANDC, • Government of Alberta Aboriginal Relations, • City of Edmonton, • End Poverty Edmonton, and • Multiple other service provider/stakeholder agencies.

In determining how to focus the planning process for the fiscal year 2015/16, CNFC recognized the desire of multiple stakeholders and participants who attended the March 5, 2015 event. Consequently, the top priority of Culture must be weaved/intertwined in all priority areas and three focus groups would be convened to accomplish action planning in:

• Education and Employment, • Housing, and • Child and Family Services.

Three focus group sessions took place on October 13, 2015, November 9, 2015 and November 27, 2015. On December 17, 2015 a summation session was convened to seek final revisions for the action planning sessions that took place in the three earlier focus group gatherings. The total number of participants throughout this fiscal year’s process included 105 people with an average number of participants greater than 26 people at those sessions.


The Action Plans1 contained herein are the culmination of the three priority action-‐planning sessions that took place in Edmonton from October 23 to November 27, 2015 as well as the summation and refinement session that took place on December 17, 2015. The list of Action Plans is as follows: EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLANS

School Access for all Children & Adult Learners Historical Recognition and Education Public Education Leadership Development Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper)

HOUSING ACTION PLANS

Housing for Homeless as a Basic Need Application to Connect Clients to all Aboriginal Services and Housing Coordination to provide sustainable and appropriate funding for development of indigenous housing project Seniors Housing Connect all the agencies/organizations to one another

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES ACTION PLANS

Creation of Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) Creation of Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) Supports to Family Education Affordable breakfast/lunch programs Informed Policy and Practices for Trauma Wellness and Cultural Centre (with hub)

Participant commentary specific to the EPE collaborative efforts that converge with UAS resulted in the following points:

• Ensure the holistic approach is embedded throughout; • When we talk about educating people we need to move them forward to the ‘so what

now’ to help them find a role to participate in ending racism; • Build on what is already working; • Social enterprise and collective partnerships: include Indigenous voices in these areas; • Appoint someone of Indigenous descent to City Council: they don’t need to be elected

or to vote; but they would provide that lens to discussions and decision-‐making; • Install some “flexibility” in policies and procedures; • Seek out best practice from other communities and countries and use what works.

Duplicate success rather than create mediocrity;

1 Given the timelines permitted for Action Planning the plans are cursory in nature and will likely require further development to fulfill community stakeholder assertions.


• Create a culture of honor – changing the perspective of the individuals themselves; • Same questions being asked as the TRC call to action. It all sounds good but problems

persist. We have got to put things into action and keep it in action; • Some people are afraid to succeed and don’t know life without poverty and trauma. It’s

a lifestyle. There is a whole culture around that including self-‐sabotage; and • There is a need for a coordinated effort to be trained on systemic domestic violence,

especially for those making decisions. Also noteworthy; throughout this engagement process, a considerable amount of discussion centered around the recently released Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action and important developments at the United Nations level with regard to rights. The Discussion References section of this plan offers quick retrieval serving as a reminder of the national and international work being done on analogous topics to that of Edmonton’s priority areas. Conclusively, the 2015/16 UAS planning initiative was a facilitated undertaking involving multiple community stakeholders and participation from multiple levels of government. The participant discussions on the actions seek to see a change in the landscape and service-‐provider role fulfillment in Edmonton requiring the cooperation and the convergence of multiple jurisdictions. At this juncture, there is no multijurisdictional or multi-‐stakeholder mechanism to lead this charge. The planning time horizon was too short to come to any conclusive implementation design. Therefore, implementation will require further investment and collaborative efforts. The addendum to this plan was therefore created to begin that discussion.


Background Terminology For the purposes of this plan the term “Aboriginal” has been used throughout. It is recognized that this is not always the most politically correct word, and many of those coined Aboriginal people do not have any affinity or use for terms such as “Indian,” or “Aboriginal,” which are derived from European sources and may be regarded as the impositions of an external and hostile system of authority. For the last few decades, the most inclusive term in general usage in Canada has been “Aboriginal,” a term that gained significant currency with its use in the Canadian Constitution of 1982 (referring to section 35 rights of First Nation, Métis and Inuit). More recently, those who are indigenous to what is now known as Canada prefer to refer to themselves in the context of their specific nation and/or communal rights, and/or traditional land base. Additionally, while community members and participants throughout the sessions may be preferential to the terminology “Indigenous”, the financial resources affiliated with this consultative process are from AANDC, and as such, for the purposes of community plans under the umbrella Urban Aboriginal Strategies (UAS), the term “Aboriginal” has been used throughout. This in no way is intended to offend any of the participants and/or readers of this plan/report; rather it is a reality of reporting requirement(s).

UAS 2015/16 Community Planning The Canadian Native Friendship Centre coordinated the 2015/16 UAS planning in Edmonton in collaboration with INAC, the City of Edmonton, and the Province of Alberta. To preface the 2015/16 UAS planning the following excerpt is taken from the Alberta Regional Head Office of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The federal department underwent a name change shortly after the middle of the fiscal year; as a result acronyms being used are interchangeable from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANDC) and INAC.

“The objective of the Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS), as set out in the program authorities, terms, and conditions announced in spring 2014 is to increase participation of urban Aboriginal people in the economy through:

• planning on how to achieve this objective; • entering into partnerships to implement plans, and; • delivering programs to support partnerships.

Participation in the economy means that Aboriginal peoples have the skills, knowledge, and training to secure, maintain and excel in a strong Canadian economy. It is generally accepted that increased participation in the economy is achieved by individuals having suitable education, life skills, self-‐advocacy skills, and the ability to access and utilize services/supports that reduce challenges that create barriers, such as transportation and childcare. A key feature of the UAS is the emphasis on the engagement of a broad range of stakeholders in development of community (cities, towns) and regional (meaning


province-‐wide) strategic plans. Stakeholders include urban Aboriginal people (Métis, First Nation, Inuit, non-‐status), representatives of federal, provincial and municipal governments, Aboriginal and non-‐Aboriginal service delivery organizations (including Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy agreement holders), business, industry, private foundations and other funders. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada headquarters (AANDC HQ) will provide regional strategic plans to the National Association of Friendship Centres to guide their investments from both the Community Capacity Support and Urban Partnerships’ funding streams. In Alberta, it is the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association (ANFCA) that administers the UAS funds.”

INAC will draft an Alberta-‐wide Regional Strategic Plan drawing from the UAS community strategic planning in Edmonton as well as approximately 20 other urban centres in Alberta.

Collaborative Facilitation Effort with End Poverty Edmonton As indicated earlier, in Edmonton 2015/16 UAS Canadian Native Friendship Centre undertook planning in collaboration with other agencies and government departments. In September 2015, End Poverty Edmonton (EPE) released its Strategy documents and began next steps in seeking community feedback prior to its dialogue scheduled at the City of Edmonton Council Chambers in December 2015. The following provides a brief background of the initiative obtainable at the following website: endpovertyedmonton.ca

The EndPoverty Edmonton Task Force is composed of 22 leaders and community stakeholders and chaired by Mayor Don Iveson and Bishop Jane Alexander. Launched in March 2014, the Task Force aims to advance a vision of shared prosperity for all, and create a city where every Edmontonian has an equal opportunity to live, work, participate and thrive.

This initiative is building on a legacy of work in our city and province around finding innovative solutions to poverty. In particular, EndPoverty Edmonton is founded on the work of the City’s 2012/13 Steering Committee to Eliminate Poverty, the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the Alberta Government and the work of the United Way Capital Region. This reflects our belief that building a community where everyone prospers means we all need to work together.

EndPoverty Edmonton task force members include many perspectives from the business sector, academia, faith and social services, health care, and the Government of Alberta.

End Poverty Edmonton has compiled 28 strategies to end poverty in a generation. The strategies and relevant background materials can be found by visiting the following link http://www.endpovertyedmonton.ca. The facilitation sessions sought to find where EPE and UAS could find synergies and as a result a heavy emphasis was placed on the first five strategies sectioned off as the “Toward True Reconciliation”.


Community planning in Edmonton is therefore aimed at finding convergent ideas and synergies while still attempting to garner any variation, spring-‐boarding and/or diversity in planning approaches. These are characterized in the efforts of multiple levels of government alongside with service providers, stakeholders, and participants. Although this community plan is developed by CNFC, the collaborative planning agencies included:

• INAC/AANDC, • Government of Alberta Aboriginal Relations, • City of Edmonton, • End Poverty Edmonton, and • Multiple other service provider/stakeholder agencies.

2015/16 Plan Foundation is Built From the Prior Fiscal-‐Year Process UAS Planning in Edmonton for the 2014/15 fiscal year was delayed for numerous reasons, and a one-‐time consultative event occurred on March 5, 2015 with 65 participants from a wide variety of agencies in attendance. An independent and professional consultant was engaged to facilitate the community engagement process for Edmonton, and although the typical planning process was not employed, the one-‐time event attempted to garner answers to the following key questions:

v Where are we now? v What do we have to work with? v Where do we want to be in the future?

The full plan can be found at the following link: http://www.cnfc.ca/uploadedFiles/documents/downloads/Edmonton-‐UAS-‐Plan_March-‐2015.pdf The purpose of the 2015/16 planning events completed as a collaborative effort sought to build upon the results of the above noted document. Page 33 of that same document begins to succinctly identify a number of broad UAS community priorities.


Ten (10) categories were selected based on known information from prior UAS strategic planning initiatives. Detailed definitions for the following 10 categories were established:

1. Culture 2. Health 3. Housing 4. Homelessness 5. Child and Family Services

6. Education 7. Employment 8. Economic Development 9. Justice 10. Domestic Violence

Participants were asked to indicate their personal opinion on what they felt were the top three priorities in Edmonton, ranking each of the three as first, second and third. Table 1 below depicts the outcomes from that process.

In determining how to continue with the planning process for the fiscal year 2015/16, CNFC recognized the desire of stakeholders and participants who see Culture as a primary area requiring focussed attention and sought out a technique that would bring forward not only those top three, but an additional priority area. The fourth place area was identified as Child and Family Services. The 2015/16 planning events would ensure Culture is weaved/intertwined in all priority areas and three focus groups would be convened to accomplish action planning in:

• Education and Employment, • Housing, and • Child and Family Services.

Table 1: Edmonton UAS Priority Outcomes 2014/15


The definitions for the above noted priority areas were provided during facilitated sessions and are as follows: • Culture: refers to practices, traditions or customs which are integral to the distinctive

culture of an Aboriginal society, and were practiced prior to European contact, meaning they are rooted in the pre-‐contact society (ancestral origins). Culture is diverse, complex, does not remain static (contemporary), and Aboriginal culture in particular is not homogeneous (many differences in linguistics, traditions, geography). As a priority this is interrelated with all other priorities; health, housing, homelessness, children and families, education, employment, economic development and justice. An investment in one’s own culture is imperative to its preservation as is an investment in external community members to the success Aboriginal people in that it will help resolve matters of ethnocentricity, and dissolve racism, stereotypes, and discrimination. The priority for culture is therefore to preserve and share Aboriginal culture in today’s context of the urban Aboriginal populace.

• Education: includes stay-‐in-‐school initiatives, upgrading and/or re-‐engaging individuals

currently not enrolled in education programming. Also incorporates support systems to ensure success of students (counsellors, housing, day care, role models, tutors, etc.), upgrading, literacy programs, student retention, initiatives to increase graduation rates, role modeling, mentorship and basic life skills, supporting collaborations between schools and the Aboriginal community in welcoming and working with all Aboriginal individuals who are pursuing education, skill development and support for Aboriginals to become successful learners. This focus area also requires efforts be made to more accurately understand historical perspectives that are not necessarily Eurocentric portrayals of the shaping of this country. The Aboriginal community as full partners in an education system that promotes a divergent opinion, the non-‐Aboriginal population will better reflect on the Aboriginal perspective as an equally important one.

• Employment: relates to participation in occupations that address barriers to economic

participation and/or meet labour market demand. Includes developing a framework to enable the urban Aboriginal population to gain meaningful long-‐term employment, learn job search skills, and obtain job skills training/job shadowing, promoting workforce development, developing bridges between employers and employees, mentorship programs, workplace readiness, and sustainable practices that steward culturally-‐safe employment and the promotion of Aboriginal people in the labour market.

• Housing: this priority includes adequate and safe affordable housing, low-‐income housing,

and understanding the rights as a tenant, reducing reluctant landlords to rent to Aboriginals, educating property owners and real estate agencies, obtaining adequate and affordable housing addressing inferior housing standards for low-‐rental units and the migration that can occur as a result of shortage of housing on-‐reserve/metis settlements. Wage rates and low income assistance thresholds, the deinstitutionalization of individuals without adequate supports, and the release of individuals from various institutes (rehabilitation, shelter, etc.) without adequate supports are also incorporated.


• Child and Family Services: pertains to a commitment to an inclusive process to establish child and family wellness based on mutual respect and the betterment of the well-‐being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations/circumstances. This may include programs aimed at prevention and intervention, creating and maintaining safe home environments, enhancing life skills, supports in transitioning to urban centers, supporting and advocating for practices in the social services sector that incorporate indigenous traditions and teachings, creating and celebrating balance and healing as a large part of the delivery.

The remainder of this plan details the outcomes from those three action-‐planning sessions as well as the summation session held in December 2015.


Participation Summary Three focus group sessions took place on October 13, 2015, November 9, 2015 and November 27, 2015. On December 17, 2015 a summation session was convened to seek final revisions for the action planning sessions that took place in the three earlier focus group gatherings. The total number of participants throughout this process was 105 people with an average number of participants greater than 26 people. The full attendance breakdown per session is presented in Table 2 below:

Table 2: UAS Focus Group Participation


Synergy Between EPE and UAS End Poverty Edmonton has compiled 28 strategies to end poverty in a generation. The strategies and relevant background materials can be found by visiting the following link http://www.endpovertyedmonton.ca. In that we were seeking to find where EPE and UAS can find synergies a heavy emphasis was placed on the first five strategies sectioned off as the “Toward True Reconciliation” and depicted in Figure 1 below.

During the three (3) focus group sessions, feedback was also solicited on the following EPE strategies that converge with the focus groups convened (Education & Employment, Housing, and Child & Family Services). Education & Employment

10. Advocate for livable incomes for Edmontonians 15. Improve skills training to help people gain sustainable employment. 16. Improve Literacy.

Housing

13. Negotiate with other orders of government to increase funding for affordable and supportive housing as well as rental subsidy programs.

14. Develop a community-‐based learning group to look at housing and zoning

Figure 1: EPE Toward True Reconciliation Priorities


regulations. 22. Partner with community organizations and other stakeholders to create a

community development corporation.

Child and Family Services

5. Make systemic changes to better reflect the needs, interests and culture of Aboriginal people.

18. Help people navigate systems in order to access resources and opportunities.

23. Plan and implement a system of early learning and care.

The goal of having these sessions held in tandem was to seek out the synergies that might exist in the separate planning processes as depicted in Figure 2 below:

Figure 2: EPE/UAS synergy


Significant EPE Comments The following provides insights into where the collaborative yet separate feedback processes converge philosophies:

• The message that we are receiving from governments’ does not match; • Liveable income must be tied to basic needs; • Policies are not compatible; • Education fees are a significant barrier; • Spirituality is important; • Reconciliation needs to be thoughtful and holistic; • Through education racism can be tackled, some actions are rooted in racism; • When we look at building housing we need to be “community-‐minded”. Be true to the

sense of community – diverse, inclusive and bring many together; • Don’t wait to “label” people; • Collaboration is needed to meet diverse needs and spectrum, what works for one is not

for all; • Link all the services in one place to be found easily – to connect services; • It is sometimes difficult to get involved with different levels of government; • Culture is part of our cellular make up; • Those involved in setting up housing must understand Aboriginal people and their lived

experiences; • There is a Spectrum of Needs. We must serve all of them in the spectrum, not just the

neediest of the needy; • There is a substantial need for cultural awareness; • Keeping people at the center is key; • There is a need for stronger Aboriginal organizations; • With more resources, we can do more to reach out and help; • Look at the systems from a client perspectives; • Aboriginal people/parents don’t feel welcome on school council boards/committees; • Spiritual component in every component of work is important and often is missing from

events, gatherings, and organizations; • Our signs, symbols, landmarks, and place names are more important than you think; • One-‐size-‐fits-‐all approach doesn’t work; • We notice struggle that people already know what they need and sometimes we need

to respect that, not just assume that the system knows what is best for them. All people can’t follow same path. They just need access to best supports; and

• There is a need for greater engagement with the business community to accept their corporate – social responsibility.


Converging thoughts about implementation The following list provides participant commentary specific to the EPE collaborative efforts that converge with UAS.

ü Ensure the holistic approach is embedded throughout; ü When we talk about educating people we need to move them forward to the ‘so what

now’ to help them find a role to participate in ending racism; ü Build on what is already working; ü Social enterprise and collective partnerships: include Indigenous voices in these areas; ü Appoint someone of Indigenous descent to City Council: they don’t need to be elected

or to vote; but they would provide that lens to discussions and decision-‐making; ü Install some “flexibility” in policies and procedures; ü Seek out best practice from other communities and countries and use what works.

Duplicate success rather than create mediocrity; ü Create a culture of honor – changing the perspective of the individuals themselves; ü Same questions being asked as the TRC call to action. It all sounds good but problems

persist. We have got to put things into action and keep it in action; ü Some people are afraid to succeed and don’t know life without poverty and trauma. It’s

a lifestyle. There is a whole culture around that including self-‐sabotage; and ü There is a need for a coordinated effort to be trained on systemic domestic violence,

especially for those making decisions.

“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-‐made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the

actions of human beings.”

-‐-‐Nelson Mandela


Action Planning A community action plan is a road map for implementing community change by identifying and specifying:

ü WHAT will be done, and ü Who will do it, and ü HOW it will be done.

In other words, the action plan describes what the community wants to accomplish, what activities are required during a specified timeline, and what resources are needed to be successful. A community action plan becomes a framework for implementing sustainable activities that are decided by the community itself. It is important to emphasise that the community members should be the main players in preparing their own community action plan. The pages that follow articulate the culmination of the three priority action-‐planning sessions that took place in Edmonton from October 23 to November 27, 2015 (Employment/Education, Housing, Child and Family). It is also important to note that the Action Plans that were selected for further refinement are based also on group dynamics that were formed in a short period of time. In each action plan there are Timeline indicators in the format of Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 which is a reference to first year of action planning split out into the First Quarter, the Second Quarter, the Third Quarter, and the Fourth Quarter of a fiscal year. References thereafter in the Timeline section refer to subsequent fiscal years



The participants of the Education and Employment focus group discussed the Current Advantages & Limitations, as well as the Future Benefits and Perils of inaction on the priority area for Education and Employment. The participants determined the following: EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN

The Advantages to dealing with this initiative are: The Limitations associated with this initiative are: • Start to provide tools people need to break out of the cycle, • Break a cycle of poverty, • Less money spent in other areas, • Will help people participate in society, • People will be able to provide for their families -‐ with education and

jobs, people could help themselves and for many women, help larger families – become role models,

• Help change perceptions and stereotypes, • Lower crime rates, • More community engagement potential, • Contributes to the elimination of racism and discrimination, • Economic benefits, increased skilled labour, less pressure on social

services, • Less suicide/mental health issues and improve quality of life, • Address poverty – EPE, • Challenge assumptions, • Participate in the economy, and social and cultural activities of city and

province, • Improve health and wellness for individuals and the community as a

whole, • Building and enriching partnerships – neighbours and friends, • Increased cycle of influence will grow for individuals, • It is key to community development, • Re-‐establishing cultural connections in schools, • History will be appropriately incorporated into the schools, and • The advantages must be connected to the information from the Calls to

Action for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• Systemic barriers, • Jurisdictions, federal vs. provincial – inadequate connections, First

Nations/cities/levels of government, • Stereotypes, • Not enough young people graduating from high school and university –

we don’t understand why that is, • Having a diploma or a job doesn’t guarantee success, • Literacy among young children – funding only available for “specialized”

groups and people work in silos, • Federal vs. provincial jurisdiction and they tend to pass-‐the-‐buck and

lack collaboration, • More round table discussion is required between provinces to provide

consistency (i.e. vital statistics information should be standardized), • People not equipped to help overcome and/or understand limitations, • Lack of funding, • The way society typically views homeless people, • Negative stereotypes, • Wrong people in power, • Systematic issues and change is slow, • Training people to actually help with these issues, • Implications for HR to hire with appropriate skills and knowledge, • Lack of accountability for FNMI funding in schools because School

Boards hold the budget we need more of a voice at the School Board level,

• Educators are needed to educate people properly, • Colonized within many systems, • Keeps people coming back, • Overwhelming workloads, • Racism/poverty/gender equality – equal pay, • Racism places limits on children, • Limits on FNMI education funding,



The Advantages to dealing with this initiative are: The Limitations associated with this initiative are: • • Incorrect checks on how money is spent,

• Standardized system – not specialized, • Lack of awareness, • Access to training/upgrading, • Children don’t feel welcomed in school, and • Children need to stay in the school they start ay (we are often in

circumstances where we must relocate and children should be able to stay in the school of choice).

The Benefits of addressing this issue are: The Perils of Inaction may result in: • We will help our children and future generations, • Less money will be spent in other areas (emergency services, kids in care,

etc.), • Reduced strain on social systems, • There will be more opportunities to share our culture and greater

understanding of our culture, • There will be less of the “us” and “them” kind of thinking (reduced

systematic oppression, stop using term “mainstream” to denote “non-‐indigenous”),

• A greater understanding of our history – everyone should know the true history of our people in Canada including Indigenous people(s) themselves to stop the cycle of child welfare,

• Those in positions of power need to be educated in the history, • Those in positions of leadership need to educated on our history, • Mainstream society won’t feel the need to ask one person to provide an

explanation that they assume speaks on behalf of all Aboriginal people, • We won’t have to feel like we’re talking on behalf of all Aboriginal people • When first learning our own history we might feel angry and we can stop

feeling that anger, • We will have sacred spaces around Edmonton and Industry will openly

participate in taking-‐on their responsibility, • Society will be fully engaged and contributing, • We will have greater cultural knowledge of our own diverse cultures and

value of life that underlies in our multitude of teachings, • Our goals should be to simply welcome the gifts of the Grandfathers and

Grandmothers,

• We have a young population and they’ll be dealing with this for future generations to come,

• Negative statistics will increase and it will be difficult to repair, • We won’t be equal participants in society, • Metro areas all have an increase in our populations, so problems will

increase and we will lose our culture and identity, • People won’t be proud of our culture(s), • It will create other strains on our society and government, • Mental health problems will increase (it has a snowball effect), • Our children will remain in care, adults will remain in jails and

unemployment will continue to be high, • Very little money is available to go round and a lot of people need it, • Our problems will be passed on to our children, • We will lose the ability to pass on our knowledge to future generations, • Status quo will remain, • There will be increased feelings of hopelessness, despair, and

frustration, • Colonization will continue, • Oppression will continue, • There will be increased discrimination/poverty/cultural deficits, and • Our future generations will still be having this conversation.



The Benefits of addressing this issue are: The Perils of Inaction may result in: • Increased roles of indigenous people in positions of power. Indigenous

females in particular need to be returned to positions of power, • Young families will know and practice healthy norms and behaviours, • Creativity will expand so our culture will continue and be encouraging, • We will have the ability to take part in networks of different people and

have greater empowerment, • We will be better able to mobilize the Seven Generations concept of holistic

thinking, which is an important part of the decision making process -‐ Indigenous knowledge – healing properties,

• Friends and allies will be standing together, • We will have adequate and suitable incomes, and • Our roles for nurturing our children will be better understood.


Potential Education and Employment Projects During the one-‐day facilitation, smaller groups were asked to brainstorm and explore (not in detail) all possible projects that could be done in a short timeframe. The next level of details would then begin to formulate various action plans. The following is an unrefined list of all potential projects that can be undertaken in a one to three year horizon: • Undertake public education about truth and reconciliation commission, • In schools – teach true Aboriginal history in all schools in Edmonton, • Review and rewrite of social studies curriculum, • Implement education similar to Jordan’s principle2 for education at elementary, Jr. High, and Sr. High for Edmonton

students, as some children do not attend school because their parents can’t afford it, • All employers have mandated cultural awareness training, especially those who are in front-‐line services (non-‐profit

services and supports for families). This should be part of their mandate in order to get government funding. Have it designed similar to a customer service course,

• Department of Education could take on a project where it’s not a separate course, but integrated into current curriculum – we can’t see our perspective as “separate”,

• Increase in funding for all education levels, • Reduction of school fees, • Basic needs getting met -‐ there are barriers to moving forward with employment and education need because the

need for housing and food is greater, • Library card program is good that it is free, but people cannot get it without an address (update: during the

December 17, 2015 session it was announced that the Edmonton Public Library Card is now available to those without identification),

• Making sure media outlets have our voice would really help with education – i.e. CBC, • Need supports in place to apply for jobs, • Rethink temporary foreign workers which is keeping our people out of jobs

o Applying similar supports for Canadian people who want to work but need supports including a subsidy when in school. That way they can pay rent and get an education,

• Revamp and increase mental health awareness and training in all education and employment sectors, • Jordan’s principle for education (public school) so all our families can afford to send kids to school, • Public education about our cultures and traditions, and the true history of Aboriginal people in Canada including

residential schools, o Develop a media voice, o Develop a marketing campaign,

• Have accessible cultural centres in the city, • Portray our people as talented and contributing members of society via marketing, • Adopt/implement TRC or education days within organizations and agencies, • City of Edmonton should have an acknowledgement of Treaty 6 territory on its signs, fly the Treaty 6 Flag, and

encourage developers to have it on city structures, • City of Edmonton to have more information on the history of our peoples, • Plaques that honour and portray honest historical portrayal of our people, • Commemorating our leaders and what they have done for the area and society, • Public service announcements “did you know”,

2 Jordan's Principle is a child first principle used in Canada to resolve jurisdictional disputes within, and between governments, regarding payment for government services provided to First Nations children. Under this principle, where a jurisdictional dispute arises between two government parties (provincial/territorial or federal) or between two departments or ministries of the same government, regarding payment for services for a Status Indian child which are otherwise available to other Canadian children, the government or ministry/department of first contact must pay for the services without delay or disruption. The paying government party can then refer the matter to jurisdictional dispute mechanisms.



• Have a racism hotline so people can report instances and a campaign can be developed to reduce, • Have a City of Edmonton advocate, • All Aboriginal historical recognition, education, and awareness can occur via public acknowledgement and building

into the communities. Our art and history on buildings. Public installations to acknowledge our identity in public buildings. Celebrating our leaders,

• Centralized service programming for Aboriginal people, • Oskâpêwis (Helpers), • Leadership Development – i.e. Seamless, accessible education trajectory through high school to post-‐ secondary

education & integration of cultural practices across the school board so greater awareness is present, and • Accreditation for FNMI within school and recognition of indigenous post-‐secondary institution and programs. Detailed action plans for education and employment projects are what follow from the above unrefined list.


What Can We Do? Project: School Access for all Children & Adult Learners Actions: • Determine how we can ensure that all children have access to school, • Create an inventory of what schools offer what programming, • Exploration of underlying barriers as to why kids can’t get to school, • Conduct a meeting with Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta,

School Boards and the City of Edmonton, o Clarify funding policies within the school system, o Determine accountability/authority,

• Track numbers of kids in school and graduating, • Add an elder into the school curriculum to mend the trust issues with

the school and to have a support system in place for kids around homework or aftercare,

• Alberta children services need to be at the table (foster care), • Approach businesses for support (share the burden), • Assist parents with advocating for their children’s rights, and • English as a second language for children migrating from

reserves/settlements/rural areas.

Timeline:

Q1: Determine how many school age children as well as adult learners there are and what the eligibility requirements are – how many are in school or wanting to return; determine team within jurisdictions; determine who pays for what currently (review/audit)

Q2: Review data, propose solutions/options and incorporate actions that can be done immediately

Q3: Refine priorities and process for implementation

Q4: Collaborative discussion with all partners to find solutions

2017/18: 2018/19:

Develop plan for implementation Implement

Resources Required: Funding for salaries to implement the initiative and the cost of mobilizing the population. This is a long term funding required project. The partner agencies required include: • Student Voice, • Native Friendship Centre -‐ Project Lead, • City of Edmonton, • Government of Alberta department of Education, • School Boards, • Government of Alberta Social Services, and • Federal Government.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: We value the statement that Edmonton is a city of learners and the project addresses stereotypes, which can lead to discrimination. This project also aligns with the UAS priorities for Child and Family Services, Homelessness, Justice and Economic Development



Project: School Access for all Children & Adult Learners Measurable Results: • Increase of number of Aboriginal children all ending and completing

(graduate) school (annual) • Enriched school experience so that Aboriginal children can fully

participate • Attendance increased, truancy decreased, grades increase as

demonstrated through reporting • Reduce stress on families – parents not receiving calls from schools • SROI – number of reduced calls to services, EPS, social workers

o (increased literacy, reduction in crime, incarceration, homelessness, etc.)

Communication Planning: • Communication must take place with principles, parents, teachers,

school boards, minister of education, and the City of Edmonton. The message delivered will be about covering fees for our students no matter the jurisdictional barriers, and to increase access to education. It is imperative that this message be heard throughout Alberta for students both rural and urban.

• Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further empowers and encourages people.



What Can We Do? Project: Historical Recognition and Education

Actions: • Determine the engagement of the community; survey community

members on the following: o Number of Aboriginal employees, o Number of Aboriginal clientele, o Have you faced racism in the past year (question posed to

Indigenous people), • Share success stories, • Gather information on what is already happening and how do we

leverage, • Conversation in and with the various groups, and • Conduct surveys relating to change in attitudes perceptions.

Timeline: Q1: Committee recruitment and meetings Q2: Review Call for actions, begin community consultations, (true

investments; collect information from community) Q3: Community consultations Q4: Decide actions to commence

2017/18: 2018/19:

Plans finalized and commencement of actions Actions in final stage ready to inform the general public

Resources Required: • Estimated $ 500,000/year • Will require the participation of Aboriginal relations office, government

of Alberta and government of Canada. Other partners may include: o School Divisions, o Industry, o Various interested Community Organizations.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This project highlights Canada’s true history by telling the Indigenous history (including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission). The project also recognizes The Descendants of the First People(s) as founders of this space and calls into the present what we can do. This project also aligns with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.



Project: Historical Recognition and Education Measurable Results: • Provides a positive sense of identity; connection to Edmonton

community, • Builds understanding between groups, colonizers, and those being

oppressed, • Cultivates full community by in eliminating racism, • Contributes to full community health, and • Reduce barriers and stereotypes from employer’s point of view.

Communication Planning: Communicate with people in positions of power (i.e. Premier and other people with influence). Convey the message that all acknowledge this is Treaty 6 territory and highlight its history and identity. Communications should purposefully seek to change or balance the social order to be inclusive, and level the playing field, building on cultural safety and competency, and acknowledge the sensitivities that exist. Modes of communication should include: • Social media outlets, public service announcements, and advertisements • People in power making announcements

o One in every two Aboriginal children live in poverty o The number of homeless people who attended residential

schools, and o Introduce our leaders and grassroots people to the community

through positive image marketing. • Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further

empowers and encourages people.



What Can We Do? Project: Public Education Possible Tagline: “Truth and Reconciliation -‐ We’re in it together” Actions: • Alberta Education to develop/refine education materials in collaboration

with Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Aboriginal people, • Determine how to measure greater advocacy and greater collective

accountability, • Funding for those already “doing” things – need more experiential

learning, • Materials distributed to stakeholders – 1) Schools, 2)

Human/Community Services, 3) All sectors of industry, 4) Province, • Conduct public surveys, • Create awareness and foster empathy about our history, • Teach the truth about Indigenous history, • Educate newcomers and refugees on our history, and • Conduct a media campaign through Canadian Radio and Television

Commission (CRTC) and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). •

Timeline: Q1: Identify team leads and committee, determine required policy Q2: Work plan and assign duties Q3: Develop assigned duties Q4: Implement the plan to stakeholders

2017/18: 2018/19:

Create a wider public media campaign Obtain feedback, survey, statistics

Resources Required: • Financial commitments of up to $2.5 M, • Involvement of Alberta Education at all levels and across Canada,

marketing agencies, various government departments and media outlets,

• Collaborative partners to include: o CBC, CRTC, & Other media bodies, o Alberta Education particularly with First Nation, Metis, and Inuit

communities

Alignment: This initiative fosters relationships and breaks down cultural barriers that exist. There will be an increase in our representation in professional and leadership roles. Strength will be built based on holistic approaches within the community services, education, and employment sectors. This project is also in alignment with the UAS priority areas of Economic Development and Culture.



Project: Public Education Possible Tagline: “Truth and Reconciliation -‐ We’re in it together” Measurable Results: • Increase self esteem and dignity of the Aboriginal people, • Society will have greater understanding of our history, • Reduce access to social services, • The ultimate goal is that all Canadians have access to the same

information about our history and culture, and • Increase in municipal elections.

Communication Planning: • Communicate messaging to all levels and orders of government, Human

Rights Commission, Media, and the general public. The key messages should be consistent about our history and Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The messaging should have consistency, effectiveness, in an effort to create awareness throughout Edmonton, Alberta and must create individual accountability and voice for a change.

• Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further empowers and encourages people.



What Can We Do? Project: Leadership Development Possible Tagline: My well-‐being is bound to your well-‐being. Actions: • Alignment of what the cultural integration will be (and allow for

modifications due to the multiple differences within our many cultures), • Training and implementation of the system to pertinent individuals as

knowledge holders, • Have senior departments get in-‐line with the methods so a mentorship

system develops, • Spread cultural awareness to students, • Engage with broader community when possible about the cultural

integration (open houses/parent teacher conferences, school plays/fundraisers), and

• Allow for Indigenous and non-‐Indigenous peoples to take ownership, and individualize systems so they can grow together, rather than allow for stagnation of out dated value systems.

Timeline: Q1: Create formal and informal hubs and determine who is going to

mentor. Q2: Develop metrics for measuring success of this initiative. Involve

all schools including specialized institutions. Q3: Create the Leadership Development Campaign and develop a

variety of interactive points to reach out to many people (i.e. open houses/parent teacher conferences, school functions)

Q4: Continued implementation of Leadership Development 2017/18: 2018/19:

Develop a wider media campaign to develop interest in learning

Resources Required: • Partner Agencies:

o Various First Nation, Metis and Inuit agencies working together with INAC.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated Priorities: This initiative emphasizes our cultural values (which is inherently communal, circular and integrated within multi-‐generations) as a priority. It creates empowered Indigenous peoples as well as non-‐Indigenous peoples, and challenge stereotypes and offers social empowerment change and changes systemic racist attitudes.

Measurable Results: Allowing for seamless integration of cultural practices accessible within the education system all the way to post secondary institutions. This impact will work toward alleviating racial inequality for the individual and community as well as integrate caring practices and consideration for all those involved. This integration will also highlight the importance of cultural value systems that create a more inclusive participation in improving the wellbeing of individuals, their health and safety, and ultimately provide empowerment for all.

Communication Planning: • Communicate to the school boards that the integration of cultural

practices and value systems in schools can bring about a broader awareness and acceptance, so that the individual and community rights can be uplifted for equality, and ultimately the value of differences within the various cultures of Canada can be celebrated for their uniqueness and alignments. We will do this during the school year (training/preparations when school is out of session). Communications can be done through media outlets (social/paper/radio) and through community engagements with parents and family members.

• Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further empowers and encourages people



What Can We Do? Project: Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) Actions: • Develop a model to have Oskâpêwis support Indigenous people in

various systems, • Training, resources to provide Oskâpêwis to engage in the community

and agencies, • Develop a communication plan, Oskâpêwis framework, policy and

service delivery, • Plan with partners, agencies and plan performance

measurements/success factors, • Incorporation of the Medicine Wheel and spirituality into our everyday

work and lives, • Determine ways to introduce and reunify more of our people into senior

government roles, o There must be action – people working in the government

system(s) creating positive supports for those providing services.

Timeline: Q1: Develop a model for Oskâpêwis

Q2: Provide funding and human resources Q3: Communication strategy/campaign

Q4: Training/Referral

2017/18: 2018/19:

Framework Evaluation/Implementation

Resources Required: • Financial commitments for human resources/skills development • Many people involved from: Treaties 6, 7, 8, Metis, and Inuit

backgrounds, • Partner Agencies:

o Government of Canada, o Government of Alberta, and o City of Edmonton.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: A holistic and community plan for this action item envisions support people at different levels improving their social/economic situation and/or “helping” to get the resources which contributes to their present and to the future state (goals). This initiative also aligns with the following other priority areas

o Employment o Education o Culture o Housing o Health o Mental Health/Addictions o Poverty o Child & Family Services



Project: Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) Measurable Results: • We would have a helper/promoter to support and assist with our issues

as well as to help through various systems inter-‐governmental, inter-‐agency and advocate together with as well as on our behalf. Building on their lived experiences, Indigenous people would be supported in their need for holistic well-‐being and empowered to deal with any variety of concerns, thus capable of developing creative solutions,

• Oskâpêwis must be resourceful (plugged in) to the available programs and services both Aboriginal/non-‐Aboriginal,

• This is realistic, and could be implemented by a realignment of resources, with minimal impact on jurisdictional issues, and

• Performance measures, social indicators and participation in the systems.

Communication Planning: • Communication will take place amongst all levels of government (policy,

program, service delivery) through various campaigns, news, radio and social media emphasizing equality/fairness, knowledge, and awareness on behalf of disadvantaged Aboriginal/vulnerable groups/citizens.


Housing Action Plan


The participants of the Housing focus group discussed the Current Advantages & Limitations, as well as the Future Benefits and Perils of inaction on the priority area for Housing. The participants determined the following: HOUSING ACTION PLAN

The Advantages to dealing with this initiative are: The Limitations associated with this initiative are: • Reduced homelessness • Appropriate housing – safe and secure, • Family unit – children are in a safe environment to have what they need

to eventually contribute to the economy, • Safe housing is needed for basic needs, • Safe, less stress, more worth, • Quality of life for all our people, • Housing is a human right; right thing to do (vs housing is an asset), • Housing for our people; addressing a core need; 100 is homeless, • Healthy housing, • Stable secure housing, • Maslow hierarchy: Foundation for healthy families, participants in

economy, opportunities for community, • Changes mainstream perspective by eliminating visible inequities.

Changes perceptions. Creates opportunities, and • Reinforces independence and self-‐sufficiency. Builds self-‐esteem and

self-‐worth.

• Availability, • Affordability, • Policies – system structures of how to access housing, • Money, budget, funding, • Lack of housing – affordable, safe, culturally appropriate, • Public perception (NIMBY) racism and stigma, • Landlords take advantage of them, • System barriers: How to get systems to buy in – benefits to them, • How do you educate landlords? Legislating not well received; politically

challenging, • Not in my backyard stance point, • Lack of affordable housing. Not building new social housing, • Record checks etc., • Pre-‐conceptions, limited views of what acceptable/appropriate housing

looks like, and • Quality, design – not seen as a priority.

The Benefits of addressing this issue are: The Dangers of Inaction will result in: • Lower cost to house people than provide current supports, • Enables participation in economy, society and culture, • Reduce overall poverty costs, • More people employed and contributing to the economy, • Community participation and inclusive events, • Less crime, • Healthier people, • More equality in treatment with one another, • Reduced health cost, • Hope for the future, and • Increased economic development and employment.

• Increase of current numbers, • Increased strain on costs of poverty, justice system, health system, and

children services, • Leads to intergenerational poverty, • Increase numbers of homelessness, • Increased crime rate, • Families being separated, • Not having a safe home environment and community, • Widening of gap between have and have-‐nots, • Loss of community network, • Competition for available housing, and • Loss of culture/pride in our heritage.

Housing Action Plan


Potential Housing Projects During the one-‐day facilitation, smaller groups were asked to brainstorm and explore (not in detail) all possible projects that could be done in a short timeframe. The next level of details would then begin to formulate various action plans. The following is an unrefined list of all potential projects that can be undertaken in a one to three year horizon: • Partner with organizations that build affordable housing, • Awareness campaign with organizations to change attitudes around policies and systems that hinder peoples ability

to access housing, • Work with partners to develop a community development corporation, • Create a best practices framework/document/tool kit, • Connect with all agencies that have a stake in this priority, • Connect clients to all the Aboriginal Services and housing i.e. resource guide, and connect all the agencies to one

another to work collaboratively: o Homeward Trust to act as connecting agent to build those connections within the community, o Devoid of policies/standards etc.,

• Healthier community at all levels as seen through individual family, and community progress – jobs, • Re-‐envisioning housing differently – social inclusion more onus on everyone, • Having places where people can live together, • Housing and benefits programs talking to one another, • Government barriers -‐ information and system integration, • Breaking down all barriers regarding programs, • Coordination of government levels to provide sustainable and appropriate funding to funnel down to the

development of indigenous housing projects. Getting industry to the table to address affordable housing responsibility and consistency,

• Seniors Housing, • Social enterprise focussed on housing developments, • Manufactured homes that the settlement or reserves own (shared ownership), • Architects/designers to be involved in co-‐creating opportunities and putting world views of indigenous knowledge to

build housing, • Housing from a preventative perspective:

o Preventing homelessness/people living on an edge, o Expansion of Habitat for Humanity to broaden scope/criteria,

• What is social housing? Changing the stigma on it, o Inventory on social housing models,

• Housing for the homeless as a starting point/basic needs, • Temporary housing in private homes, and • Housing for our students and housing for Aboriginal fathers vs. only mothers.

Housing Action Plan


What Can We Do? Project: Housing for Homeless as a Basic Need Potential Slogans: Housing as a Right; Do not need to qualify for;

Fit the Family unit (Diversity of “Family” Actions: • Community consultation (identify who the partners are, and what the

scope should be), • Refine the definition of target clients – who are the homeless (not

necessarily those who have been one year without a place to live), • What should we build? (approach funders/developers/architects) pilot

on using an existing resources vs. building new, • Evaluation on pilot (tweak approach, create new plan for

implementation). Expand to all areas of city, and • Create an awareness campaign.

Timeline: Q1: Homeward Trust to facilitate progress (but not use their

eligibility criteria), and begin community consultations. Shift from the numbered criteria, those who don’t meet the Homeward Trust criteria

Q2: Resources in place by all partners (including funding) Q3: Begin pilot, story telling Q4: Operations of pilot

2017/18: 2018/19:

Evaluate/Tweak Begin working on expansion. Make it a reality TV show.

Resources Required: • Financial commitments of “in kind” property; renovation commitment

of $2.5 million; and pre operational phase supports approximately $5 million,

• People involved may include: education consultants, project managers, support services to people living in the facility,

• Partner Agencies: o All levels of government, o Agencies (Homeward Trust), o Media outlets, and o Utility companies.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: • Stable secure housing is key to ending poverty, • Basic human right, and • “Holistic” and assists in UAS participation in economy. Other strategic initiatives that this aligns with include: • Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty

• Education • Housing • Mental Health/Addictions • Child & Family Services

Measurable Results: • Housing hotline (number of calls), • Breaking down barriers for “Identification” criteria/remove certain

criteria, and • Engagement and community pride.

Communication Planning: Public education campaign: to eliminate racism and discrimination: • Everyone, stakeholders, partners, • Create a space for anyone/everyone, • Housing is a human right there are no limits, • Utilize front line workers, access interprovincial agencies, networks, and

word of mouth, and • Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further


Housing Action Plan


What Can We Do? Project: Application to Connect Clients to all Aboriginal Services and Housing

Potential Slogans: Name the app: Home/House Fire – Let’s connect you – Homeless connect 365 days a year – You’ve Been Activated!

Actions: • Develop the app (through start up Edmonton) or co-‐create new app with

Linkyeg.ca and/or all housing companies in Edmonton, o Compile all the resources that need to be included, o Ensure cultural alignment (anthropological approach), o Market and promote awareness,

• Distribution of multiple access point across the City: o iPads/tablets o Available/computer info screens have the app all across the city o LRT/libraries/malls/greyhound/community centres/service

agencies terminals @ all service providers

Timeline: Q1: Find an App developer (consider working with technology

students) Q2: Determine the resources to be included and the cultural

requirements Q3: Incorporate into App development Q4: Test App

2017/18: 2018/19:

Evaluate revise and update as needed

Resources Required: Financial commitments Phase One $40, 000, People involved include all agencies at homeless connect (Homeward Trust) • Those with technological expertise, • All levels of governments, • Linkyeg.ca, and • Service providers to promote the initiative.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: All people are able to be connected to services. Other strategic initiatives that this aligns with include: • Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty


Measurable Results: Technological analytics • Web views, number of hits; number of connections etc. • General awareness within the community:

o Number of downloads, and o How many referrals from organizations were linked to the

App.

Communication Planning: • Determining new modes of communication for a changing landscape, • Save money in the long term, • Start with a virtual world-‐move to in person, • Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further


Housing Action Plan


What Can We Do? Project: Coordination to provide sustainable and appropriate funding for development of indigenous housing projects

Potential Slogans: Breaking the Barriers; Meeting people where they are at to house them

Actions: Develop a plan that would focus on development of housing units where three or four houses are sold on the open market. To provide a percentage of funding that will assist in the development of the fifth house. The housing units can be new or used (retrofit/repurposed), Engage architects or create own firm to build cultural model type housing in the forms of: • Tiny homes, • Homes for extended/large families, • C-‐cans (Seacans), • That would create jobs for our people,

Timeline: Q1: Develop a project team to bring together multiple investors and

funders Q2: Hold a series of small focus groups and/or interviews to foster

multiple ideas Q3: Create feasibility study to demonstrate demand and positive

outcomes. Convene a larger gathering to review possibilities and to generate buy-‐in and to build off the original ideas

Q4: Enlist architects/designers to create cultural housing models, enlist trade schools and government sponsorship for economic development, training, etc.

2017/18: 2018/19:

Build or retrofit first success story that will be the catalyst for new and upcoming projects

Resources Required: • Manufactured homes – less expensive, easy to move and locate, • Support services – need to keep the status of the urban Aboriginal

community strong. There are also those that don’t “fit in”; but who need to have a voice to be involved. Must have having a ratio of urban Aboriginal,

• Financial commitments: $10 – $15 million, o $2 million for pre-‐apprenticeship and employment programs, o Getting the word out/branding success stories > media -‐ $75 -‐

$250 thousand, o Contracting a developer to design cultural focus -‐ $10,000, o New neighbourhood design in city’s land use permit,

People involved in initiative may include: • All levels of government, • Homeward Trust, • Capital Region Board, Capital Region Housing Corporation, Canada

Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Home Builders Association, Aboriginal organizations, and

• Edmonton Community Foundation (private sector).

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This initiative resonates with other community plans and is part of the community values because it seeks to employ people that have certificates in a social enterprise style model. This also provides meaningful competition to the existing housing industry. Other strategic initiatives that this aligns with include: • Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty


Housing Action Plan


Project: Coordination to provide sustainable and appropriate funding for development of Indigenous housing projects

Measurable Results: • Sustainable jobs that are connected to housing development which

would lead greater economic growth i.e. apprenticeship training, • Increase in trade skills, • People are actually working for their own homes (Habitat for Humanity), • Pride of ownership – as seen via equality for care instead of asking for

affordable housing people are working toward a goal of making it for ourselves and our community,

• Will assist in leveraging funding for projects, • Will address stereotype break down, • Promotes collaboration, • Involvement leads to ownership and community pride, • Board leadership, • Greater community capacity and end product, • Changes conversation owning vs. renting and reduction to getting

mortgage, and • More capable people will be involved.

Communication Planning: Involved partners may include: Homeward Trust, city, all levels of government, local community agencies, Mosaic Centre, Bencalf Robe, Housing developers, ets. Will provide employment and education relating to homebuilding: • Trades, • Apprenticeship and training, and • Research. Get the word out about goals and investment; and ownership in affordable housing: • Branding success stories • City contract to develop a plan for Indigenous housing • Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further

empowers and encourages people

Housing Action Plan


What Can We Do? Project: Seniors Housing Potential Slogans: Seniors and youth are often the most marginalized Actions: • Determine which/how many Seniors need subsidized housing, • Determine if the Seniors Co-‐op can help, • Community centres that have Seniors housing implement;

o Drop-‐in – literacy programs for youth, o Sharing circles, o Restorative justice, o Celebration events – near nature,

• Intergenerational link-‐ins, • Health determinants, • Incorporate teachings around honouring elders, • Interdisciplinary collaboration – to connect dots, and • Get a baseline of how seniors are accessing social programs and

monitor –work to reduce poverty and/or borderline poverty of Seniors

Timeline: Q1: Conduct research on needs of Seniors’ housing, along the way

determine who might want to be involved in the project and be prepared to invest time/money/people

Q2: Seek participation of various community centres to invest and share their expertise so that wrap around services can be implemented with Senior housing project

Q3: Seek investment and government funding to create spaces for elders based on research findings and involvement of multiple agencies (built to suite or retrofit existing)

Q4: Create business/feasibility plan and involve youth in planning stages to determine how they want to be involved

2017/18: 2018/19:

Open first centre and build media campaign that seeks to find the next success story

Resources Required: • Financial commitment required $10 Million • Capital cost/repurposing costs for land, and facilities (not old

residential schools) • Involvement of relevant Seniors services (driving miss daisy,

cleaning services, etc.) o Entrepreneurial – teaching youth to drive (so that they

can drive elder/mentor) o Amendments to zoning bylaw

• Education and awareness

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: • There is a huge community value in teaching and demonstrating that Seniors

are valued, and Other strategic initiatives that this aligns with include:

• Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty


Housing Action Plan


Project: Seniors Housing Potential Slogans: Seniors and youth are often the most marginalized Measurable Results: • Retention of Indigenous knowledge, • Cultivating youth leadership and transfer of knowledge to youth, • Informal economy growth through social and cultural capital gains, • Changes conversation about where investments can be made, • Practicums/mentorships, • Entire community gets to learn from what is preserved, • Aboriginal youth participating in programs for Seniors (dual credits), • Pride of entire community, • Inspire Commitment, • Less long term beds and instead have shorter stays, • Traditional knowledge transfer and learning, • Senior housing is on the radar, • Continuing care is very extensive and expensive – there will be cost/time

savings, • Support for each stage of living that is culturally relevant, • Prevention and early transition, and • Longer life expectancy with less transition.

Communication Planning: Community campaign involvement may include: • Edmonton Police Services, • Chiefs (resources with TRC – justice circles), • City council, • Human Rights, • Justice/Corrections (early intervention). • The message conveyed needs to be that elders/seniors want a place to

live where they feel safe, valued, and connected. The communication focus will be here in Edmonton.

• Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further


Housing Action Plan


What Can We Do? Project: Connect all the agencies/organizations to one another Let’s get connected! Actions: • Environmental scan of previous initiatives and why they didn’t work, • Decide who coordinates/manages this opportunity, • Host an initial meeting with all stakeholders, • Identify all key players and what existing partnerships/meetings have

occurred, • Have this discussion @ 1st/2nd meeting, • Development of an application (other form of connective technology) –

facebook/twitter/website/forum, • Creation of a pamphlet, • Determine how to incorporate a “client-‐based approach” and how/what

their involvement will be (their voice not just agencies making decisions),

• Create a foundation on how the group will function together, and • Create a means for all to make decisions together.

Timeline: Q1: Environmental Scan; determine key players and existing

partnerships Q2: Host meeting with all stakeholders to determine who manages

opportunity Q3: Communication development Q4: Meeting and collaboration of agencies/organizations to identify

priorities and set goals then implement them 2017/18: 2018/19:

Co-‐creating specific projects together as one entity

Resources Required: • The costs associated with this initiative will be less than $100,000 for

three years as many agencies are already involved and are currently trying to keep up to date with what others’ are doing, and

• The involvement of all organizations from within Edmonton that deal with housing issues must be involved. We need to ensure representative viewpoints from the provincial, First Nation, Metis, and Inuit community perspectives are also included/involved.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This project aligns with our value as a community for

o Kindness, o Nobody gets left behind, o Holistic health, o Collaboration, and o It will reduce overall costs of poverty

Other strategic initiatives that this aligns with include: • Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty


Housing Action Plan


Project: Connect all the agencies/organizations to one another (cont.) Measurable Results: • Impact on community – we will be truly collaborative, • Have increased capacity in all organizations, • Baseline data measure and evaluated: number of partnerships,

awareness and knowledge of programs in community, what they do who they serve,

• Lobbying impact as a collective group, collective impact actions, • Through creation of an App (technology) we can measure direct

connections through technological data/metrics, • Collaboration will build the passions that exist in silos and stoke the fire

of passion for a whole excitement, and • Important first step: we need to get rid of egos in the room (who gets

what funding/accomplishments/etc.).

Communication Planning: • Start with housing organizations as initial starting points, • Cross organizational relationship building, • To build stronger relationships/share resources and increase capacity, • Meeting within Edmonton, ensure representation from outside reserves

and various treaty’s, and • Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further


Child & Family Services Action Plan


The participants of the Child and Family Services focus group discussed the Current Advantages & Limitations, as well as the Future Benefits and Perils of inaction on the priority area for Child & Family Services The participants determined the following:CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES ACTION PLAN

The Advantages to dealing with this initiative are: The Limitations associated with this initiative are:

• Reduce number of children in care and keep the family together, • Parents will be supported in learning what their rights are, • Involvement of government services need to be integrated, • Reducing the stresses from other areas, • Foundation for healthy children and families, • Invest in the young, • Prevention, • Focus on the future, • Increased education and opportunities to then be able to contribute in

the community, • Healthy holistic system will help break the cycle of poverty and help

manage the risk to various issues/environments that families may be subjected to,

• Ending poverty, • Decreasing number of children in care, • Meeting basic needs, • A system that actually works to address concerns, • We will look at the children as sacred gifts from the Creator, • Healthy holistic family = healthy holistic communities, • Shifting from child centred system to a family centred system. Solution

focussed will enhance family capacities, • Creating situations where mother or father is able to stay home until the

child is school-‐aged will allow more nurturing for good brain development,

• Return to traditional/cultural teachings, and • Supporting the child welfare workers – when they know better they will

do better.

• Not enough mandatory training on specific topic areas, • Enhanced childcare/supports, • Need to restructure policy, • Dangers of bureaucracies, • Pass-‐the-‐buck syndrome, • Lack of dialogue between different players/too many players, • Territoriality – “I’m the expert”, • Already some loss of identity, • Lack of funding resources available, • Lack of awareness of resources, • Not being able to identify specific problem areas, • Re-‐writing policies and legislation so less gaps and loopholes exist, • The current systems need to be more cognizant on the history and how

culture can help deal with issues, we must return to the teachings, • Lack of community capacity (kinship), and • Groups are working silos rather than sharing information that will move

us forward.



The Benefits of addressing this issue are: The Dangers of Inaction will result in: • More children in schools/post secondary, • Reducing social costs/system, • Keep family units together, • Healthy families, • Less children in care, • Children stay home, • System costs, • Less incarcerated, decrease in criminal activity, • Keeping families together, • Keeping strength within families, • Increased quality of life, • Less strain on society, • Social return on investment, • Rebuilding structure in families, • Building stronger communities, • Informed knowledge is the catalyst to change attitudes that work

instead to encourage change and practices and services, • Empower children and youth to make better choices, go after goals, and • Having a wellness team that treats families as assets not problems.

• Not knowing your own culture, • Lost connections and the results from this include:

o Disconnected family units o Another generation of survivors o Disconnected families o More families in crisis o Displaced

• We will never have the full engagement and consultation with our community – at all levels,

• Continued/worsening of number living in poverty, • More incarcerated, breaking down of families, more children in care, and • Continued loss of identity for children in care.



Potential Child and Family Services Projects During the one-‐day facilitation, smaller groups were asked to brainstorm and explore (not in detail) all possible projects that could be done in a short timeframe. The next level of details would then begin to formulate various action plans. The following is an unrefined list of all potential projects that can be undertaken in a one to three year horizon: • All basic, cultural, and emotional needs of all children/family are met,

o i.e. family first model, • Creation of an Employment Equity Act, • More of our people in decision making areas of Children and Family services sector, • Co-‐ordinated approach to prevention of children before they get into the system (reactive mindset has to change)

“doing it differently”, • Reconciliation projects provide/create context of everything else, • Programs and services related to the needs of the child and family, • Stop re-‐inventing the wheel, • Building the capacity of service providers to deliver the services we are requesting, • Mentorship program (family mentoring), • Family Treatment Centre (Healing) inclusive to the whole family especially when crisis occurs for the family – focus

on the root causes: o Historical trauma and intergenerational trauma, o Having a team of wellness workers, o Continuing care, positive relationships between all,

• Building more treatment centres (instead of jails/prisons), • Twenty four hour drop in for youth, and • More workshops for community people not just for agencies.



What Can We Do? Project: Creation of Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper)

Actions: • Identify where these workers would be housed/space, • Identify the collaborative partnerships to be created with supports, • Identify funding sources and systems needed to be created, • The primary role is to assist and help the family so that better

relationships are created, • Finalize marketing and awareness to be created, • Identify skills and training of workers and qualifications, and • Creation of a Family Help Line (not to be associated with mental

helpline, domestic violence helpline, etc.).

Timeline: This project should be coordinated with the efforts identified in the following other UAS Projects: • Historical Recognition and Education • Public Education • Leadership Development

Resources Required: • This project will cost an approximate $500,000 investment. There will be

a need for four (4) people to work in the quadrants of the city of Edmonton and they will have to be linked to the Wellness & Cultural Centre (part of a bigger project detailed on Page 42)

• The involvement of the following agencies are necessary o CNFC, o City of Edmonton, o Library o Referrals from agencies, and o Government of Alberta Departments of Justice, Education,

and Health.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This initiative is in alignment with reconciliation and in filling service gaps that are: • Preventative in nature, • Strength based, and • Work toward elimination of poverty. Other strategic initiatives that this aligns with include: • Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty

• Education • Housing • Mental

Health/Addictions • Child & Family Services



Project: Creation of Oskâpêwis (Holistic Cultural/Educational Helper) Measurable Results: • Preventative services/supports will be in place, • Lived experience is transformative “the spirit” of culturally supported, • Softer approach in “all” sectors to help families, • Independent of systems that can be viewed as productive, • Families will have knowledge of different systems, including:

o Health, o Justice, o Education, and o Employment.

Communication Planning: • Communicate messaging to all levels and orders of government, media,

and the general public. The key messages should be consistent about our history and Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The messaging should have consistency, effectiveness, in an effort to create awareness throughout Edmonton, Alberta and must create individual accountability and voice for change.




What Can We Do? Project: Supports to Family Actions: • Create awareness of changing approaches to how supports are incentivized,

o Jumping through hoops, this is sometimes unattainable • Create informed support workers (historic trauma, colonization etc.). They

will do better in their jobs because the approaches taken will be from an informed approach

• Targeted services to support men • Incentive supports to have adults, support their children, and • Creating a credit program for food

Timeline: This project should be integrated with the following other UAS projects: • Historical Recognition and Education • Leadership Development

Resources Required: • Estimated $500,000/year • Will require the participation of, Government of Alberta Aboriginal

Relations and Government of Canada and various interested Community Organizations

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This initiative will support the following community values • Restore family unit, • Encourage family bonding, • Priorities to be a parent, and • Healthy families, healthy communities.

Measurable Results: • Trauma informed approach

o To help parents heal where needed, o To help workers shift their practices,

• Free services to parents, • Making parenting a community affair – finding ways to create income

situations so that one parent is always home and seeing that this is a social return on the investment with their children, and

• Allow and invest so that the family can be a family.

Communication Planning: • Communicate that the integration of cultural practices and value

systems in everyday life can bring about a positive and so that individual and community rights can be recognized, uplifted and celebrated. Communications can be done through community engagements between agencies and families.




What Can We Do?

Project: Education Potential Slogan: We Do Better (when we know our rights, when we know more, we have the right to)

Actions: • Create “rights reading” based on different population groups (human

rights, rights of the child, etc.), • Incorporate into curriculum and/or classroom presentations by those

who know (i.e. John Humphrey, John Howard, Elizabeth Fry Societies), • “You Have The Right” week (like Freedom to Read week at library) with

public support centres like Bissel, and other agencies, • Mail drop/mail out and incentive, • Survey with incentive (e.g. How well do you know your rights?), • Community town hall/forum, • Legal centres, public legal education, family law info centres, and • Create and distribute simple language versions of rights booklets.

Timeline: Q1: Recruitment of interested stakeholders/hosting meetings Q2: Review Calls for Actions, UN rights of the Child, UN Declaration

on the Rights of Indigenous People, UN Human Rights and Alberta legislation to begin community consultations,

Q3: Conduct community consultations on incorporating into curriculum

Q4: Determine various locations where information sessions can be held to engage and inform

2017/18: 2018/19:

Evaluate process and find wats to continue engaging members of the community

Resources Required: Funding for salaries to implement the initiative and the cost of mobilizing the population. This is a long term funding required project. The partner agencies required include:

o Multiple stakeholder agencies, o Solicitor General, o City of Edmonton, o Government of Alberta department of Education, o Government of Alberta Social Services, and o Federal Government.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: We value the statement that Edmonton is a city of learners and the project addresses stereotypes, which can lead to discrimination, and This project also aligns with the following other priorities identified in Edmonton UAS Community planning:

• Child and Family Services, • Homelessness, • Justice, and • Economic Development.

Measurable Results: • Cross cultural workshops/education (knowledgeable informed staff) • Parents will be empowered on their own rights, • Rights-‐based education/support (early years) curriculum • Stronger community – strong role models • There will be no need for (no more) children and youth advocates office

Communication Planning: • Communications will require the solicitor general, Confederacy of Treaty

6, John Humphrey, Elizabeth Fry Societies, and other community agencies including corrections and educational facilities. The materials must include include presentations, newsletters, public service announcement, billboards and booklets. Communications must impart the message that “It’s the right thing to do!” and “Because It’s 2016!”

• Set up a website to share their good stories this further empowers and encourages people



What Can We Do? Project: Affordable breakfast/lunch programs Actions: • Obtain funding/sponsorship/endorsements/donations, • Maintain, strengthen and/or develop partnerships, • Create a list of all schools interested in participation, • Educate staff and partnering schools and sponsors, • Create menu’s based on Traditional Foods (consider allergens and

sensitivities), • Researching successful food programs, • Create an evaluation system, • Create a business/strategic plan, • Establish efficiencies (e.g. connect with food banks/homeless food

conservation), • Locate space, and • Hire/Train staff (consider using fine options program).

Timeline:

Q1: Ensure business/strategic plans, funding, sponsorship, partnerships, research successful food programs

Q2: Develop a list of schools, educate staff/partnering schools and sponsors, locate space

Q3: Create menu’s, evaluations, hire and train staff

Q4: Initiate program and establish efficiencies

2017/18: 2018/19:

Evaluate and fine tune Expand to Northern Alberta and new markets/demographics

Resources Required: • The costs of this project are expected to require millions over a three year

period in an effort to feed an approximate 20,0000 children • The initiative will require the involvement of schools, multiple agencies, and

industry

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This project demonstrates the following community values: • Less hungry children, • Stronger education system for children, and • Food is a way to bond and share time and culture together.

The project also aligns with the following other priority areas:

o Health o Justice o Housing



Project: Affordable breakfast/lunch programs Measurable Results: • This initiative will combat hunger in all Edmonton and surrounding area

schools. It is realistic and can measured by number of bellies fed, children’s grades, focus, attitudes, and energy. Kids can be routinely educated on healthy eating choices and cooking options. This will create stronger communities and inspire children to learn about other cultures.

Communication Planning: • Communication will involve school boards, media outlets,

partnerships, parents, teachers, Government of Alberta department of Education, parent associations, community organization. The messaging will be delivered through public service announcements, media campaigns, Facebook, twitter, newsletters. The communication plan will create awareness, obtain sponsorship and buy-‐ins and must involve the parents as well as other community involvement and sponsorship. Messaging will be delivered to schools, community centres, parks, childcare centres, grocery stores.




What Can We Do? Project: Informed Policy and Practices for Trauma Actions: • Engage leadership of all levels of government (to educate and provide

experiences surrounding the issues i.e. ride along experience), • Development of culturally sensitive and relevant approach (i.e. blanket

exercise), • Poverty stimulation training (i.e. Red Cross), • Job shadowing, • Inventory of available resources and those incorporating these

practices, • Employ also for front-‐line workers who are correspondingly

traumatized, • Draft a position paper, • Compile best practice research to develop:

o Training materials, o Train the trainer, o Workshop for policy makers to affect change, o Inclusion of a Blanket Exercise, intergenerational traumas,

missing and murdered aboriginal women, colonization training etc.

Timeline:

Q1: Identify which agencies are of highest priority to obtain the training. Identify approach to information and training series for government leadership to best understand the intergenerational trauma and various historical experience

Q2: Conduct best practices research and develop training plans

Q3: Test training with front line workers to ensure completeness of education series, revise as necessary. Implement training sessions with first round of leaders as identified in the priority listing

Q4: Implement to second and third round of leadership

2017/18: 2018/19:

Create a wider public media campaign Obtain feedback on impact the attendees have experienced

Resources Required: • Funding for train the trainer • Involvement of Justice, Education, Health (all Human Services

agencies), and the community at large

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: This initiative aligns with our community values that “People come first” and we all have the Human Right to be cared for. Other strategic initiatives that this project aligns with include:

o Domestic Violence o Health o Justice



Project: Informed Policy and Practices for Trauma Measurable Results: • Create change in policies and practice, • Caution – often policies inflict further trauma, • Less impact on Human Resources Systems, • People knowing what it means “definition known”, • Mandatory Training for Human Services, Police, Emergency services:

o Impact performance Up and Down, • Empowerment, • Less victimization – stop the cycle, and • Client centralized model – people first.

Communication Planning: • Communication planning will require involvement of government

politicians (all 3 levels) – specific to the City of Edmonton, • The messaging of “It hurts not to be understood” and there is “A Better

way”, • The communication must also send the message that this initiative will

save money overall. Communications can (and is already) start in the City of Edmonton first and then branch out -‐ leverage existing, processes underway, and

• Set up website for people to share their good stories this further empowers and encourages people.



What Can We Do? Project: Wellness and Cultural Centre (with hub) Potential Slogans: Hub for Humanity; “Just Hub it up”; “Let’s hit the Hub” Actions: • Determine if existing space is available and obtain space, • Garner buy-‐in, • Create a list of important resources, • Organize a planning committee, • Involve employees, • Determine what classes/programs are needed, • Create blueprints, • Create our library of resources, • Set up community involvement, • Develop and refine communication strategies, • Create a Business/Strategic plan, • Seek Best Practices information and existing models of projects that

are up and running (e.g. Wabano Centre in Ottawa), • Set up a website for people to share their good stories this further

empowers and encourages people, and • Evaluations/feedback.

Timeline: Q1: Have a planning committee (community members, non-‐profit,

government members) to secure funding, develop strategic/business plan & set up a board

Q2: • Increase buy in • Create community involvement • Communication plan • Secure location

Q3: • Blue prints • Build up resource library • Recruitment process for staff (who do we hire) • Launch party

Q4: • Start building facility/re-‐furbishing (i.e. repurpose an old or vacant school)

• Professional development (ongoing) 2017/18: 2018/19:

• Increases buy-‐in • Open • Initial evaluations • Sustainable funding • Review programs/resources • Initial evaluations

Participants from this focus group developed a potential logo as depicted in Figure 3 below:

Figure 3: Potential Hub Logo



Project: Wellness and Cultural Centre (cont.) Resources Required: • Financial commitments for human resources/skills development, • Many people being involved from: Treaties 6, 7, 8, Metis, and Inuit

backgrounds, and • Partner Agencies include:

o Government of Canada, o Government of Alberta, o City of Edmonton, o Edmonton Public Library.

Alignment with Overall Strategy and Interrelated priorities: The following community values are in alignment with this project: • Rebuilding structure in families • Social return on investments • Increased quality of life • Less strain on society • Larger working/middle class • Empowering children This project also aligns with the following other priority initiatives areas: • Employment • Culture • Health • Poverty


Measurable Results: This is a realistic approach to combat the effect of breakdowns in families and communities. This will provide a guide to illustrate the collaborative efforts of all organizations involved. Navigation hub/library will provide access to all relevant resources with assistance of advocates when necessary. We will measure the success by number of referrals, statistics, success stories, follow-‐ups, and evaluations.

Communication Planning: • Communications through all media sectors, and the mayor should

endorse, partnership outreach YouTube, Blogs, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Communications in the form of Public Service Announcements, Facebook page, media campaign (radio), community picnic’s, launch party, lunch and learns, agency tours, community debates to create awareness, marketing, buy in, promotion, community engagement, and building stronger communities. Communication will be all over Edmonton and surrounding areas, presentations at schools, agencies, churches, First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities

• Set up website for people to share their good stories this further empowers and encourages people


Discussion References Throughout this engagement process, a considerable amount of discussions centered around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) recently released Calls to Action. The contents of many of the important findings as well as the Calls to Action document can be found at the following website trc.ca. While all of the TRC Calls to Action are important, twenty directly relate to the three priority initiatives discussed herein.

Relevant Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action

1.

We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by: i. Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations. ii. Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-‐welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside. iii. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-‐welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools. iv. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-‐welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing. v. Requiring that all child-‐welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.

2.

We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to prepare and publish annual reports on the number of Aboriginal children (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) who are in care, compared with non-‐Aboriginal children, as well as the reasons for apprehension, the total spending on preventive and care services by child-‐welfare agencies, and the effectiveness of various interventions.

3. We call upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle.

4.

We call upon the federal government to enact Aboriginal child-‐welfare legislation that establishes national standards for Aboriginal child apprehension and custody cases and includes principles that:

i. Affirm the right of Aboriginal governments to establish and maintain their own child-‐welfare agencies. ii. Require all child-‐welfare agencies and courts to take the residential school legacy into account in their decision making.

iii. Establish, as an important priority, a requirement that placements of Aboriginal children into temporary and permanent care be culturally appropriate.

5. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families.

7. We call upon the federal government to develop with Aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-‐Aboriginal Canadians.

8. We call upon the federal government to eliminate the discrepancy in federal education funding for First Nations children being educated on reserves and those First Nations children being educated off reserves.

9. We call upon the federal government to prepare and publish annual reports comparing funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves, as well as educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with non-‐ Aboriginal people.


10.

We call on the federal government to draft new Aboriginal education legislation with the full participation and informed consent of Aboriginal peoples. The new legislation would include a commitment to sufficient funding and would incorporate the following principles:

i. Providing sufficient funding to close identified educational achievement gaps within one generation. ii. Improving education attainment levels and success rates. iii. Developing culturally appropriate curricula. iv. Protecting the right to Aboriginal languages, including the teaching of Aboriginal languages as credit courses. v. Enabling parental and community responsibility, control, and accountability, similar to what parents enjoy in public school systems. vi. Enabling parents to fully participate in the education of their children. vii. Respecting and honouring Treaty relationships. 14. We call upon the federal government to enact an Aboriginal Languages Act that incorporates the following principles: i. Aboriginal languages are a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society, and there is an urgency to preserve them. ii. Aboriginal language rights are reinforced by the Treaties. iii. The federal government has a responsibility to provide sufficient funds for Aboriginal-‐language revitalization and preservation. iv. The preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Aboriginal languages and cultures are best managed by Aboriginal people and communities. v. Funding for Aboriginal language initiatives must reflect the diversity of Aboriginal languages.

11. We call upon the federal government to provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-‐secondary education.

12. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Aboriginal families.

20. In order to address the jurisdictional disputes concerning Aboriginal people who do not reside on reserves, we call upon the federal government to recognize, respect, and address the distinct health needs of the Métis, Inuit, and off-‐reserve Aboriginal peoples.

36. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to work with Aboriginal communities to provide culturally relevant services to inmates on issues such as substance abuse, family and domestic violence, and overcoming the experience of having been sexually abused.

39. We call upon the federal government to develop a national plan to collect and publish data on the criminal victimization of Aboriginal people, including data related to homicide and family violence victimization.


55.

We call upon all levels of government to provide annual reports or any current data requested by the National Council for Reconciliation so that it can report on the progress towards reconciliation. The reports or data would include, but not be limited to:

i. The number of Aboriginal children—including Métis and Inuit children—in care, compared with non-‐ Aboriginal children, the reasons for apprehension, and the total spending on preventive and care services by child-‐welfare agencies. ii. Comparative funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves. iii. The educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with non-‐ Aboriginal people. iv. Progress on closing the gaps between Aboriginal and non-‐Aboriginal communities in a number of health indicators such as: infant mortality, maternal health, suicide, mental health, addictions, life expectancy, birth rates, infant and child health issues, chronic diseases, illness and injury incidence, and the availability of appropriate health services. v. Progress on eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in youth custody over the next decade. vi. Progress on reducing the rate of criminal victimization of Aboriginal people, including data related to homicide and family violence victimization and other crimes. vii. Progress on reducing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the justice and correctional systems.

62.

We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:

i. Make age-‐appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students. ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-‐secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms. iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms. iv. Establish senior-‐level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.

63.

We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including:

i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools. ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history. iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect. iv. Identifying teacher-‐training needs relating to the above.

64. We call upon all levels of government that provide public funds to denominational schools to require such schools to provide an education on comparative religious studies, which must include a segment on Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and practices developed in collaboration with Aboriginal Elders.

65.

We call upon the federal government, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, post-‐secondary institutions and educators, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and its partner institutions, to establish a national research program with multi-‐year funding to advance understanding of reconciliation.


92.

We call upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:

i. Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects. ii. Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-‐term sustainable benefits from economic development projects. iii. Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-‐racism.

In addition to the TRC Calls for Action, throughout discussions there were many references3 to the following United Nations documents, which can be found at the links provided below: • United Nations Declaration on the

Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

• Convention on the Rights of the Child • Universal Declaration of Human Rights

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/crc.pdf http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf

3 The references to United Nations documents are not an endorsement rather these are documents that may shed additional insight into what participants were keeping top of mind during facilitated discussions.


Conclusion The 2015/16 UAS planning initiative was a facilitated undertaking involving multiple community stakeholders and participation from multiple levels of government. The participant discussions on the actions seek to see a change in the landscape and service-‐provider role fulfillment in Edmonton requiring the cooperation and the convergence of multiple jurisdictions. At this juncture, there is no multijurisdictional or multi-‐stakeholder mechanism to lead this charge. The planning time horizon was too short to come to any conclusive implementation design. Therefore, implementation will require further investment and collaborative efforts. The addendum to this plan was therefore created to begin that discussion.


Addendum Next Steps There is little rationale in creating a plan if the plan is not going to be utilized to its fullest extent or potential. The following are additional considerations requiring immediate attention. This Addendum is based on prior work experience of the consultant and best practices for community planning with Indigenous communities. Time restrictions and participant fatigue did not permit for a prolific discussion on these suggested next steps. A comprehensive discussion on these will require further commitment to planning as well as community stakeholder participation. Find the Collaborative gain: The most challenging level of planning alignment is to remain strategic. It is also arguably the most important as it involves the community, voluntary sector, public sector, federal and provincial government departments and local government all aiming to put forth their assessments of needs, views on priorities and solutions. Community planning is not intended to replace or override the legal duties of municipal councils or stakeholder agencies, rather its added value is the development integrated planning and the delivery complementary initiatives when and where there are clear benefits in doing so. The benefits can range from better understanding and targeting of needs and/or issues to improve efficiencies through shared facilities, resources and staffing. In summary, the community engagement process must continue and evolve for the betterment of all stakeholders. Seek Community Support: Considering that the Community Plans have been developed “by the people, for the people”, Both the Strategic Plan and the Action Plans will require acceptance by the Community prior to incorporating and implementing the strategies and initiatives contained within. Review of Existing Business and Community Projects: To ensure that the pursuit of existing business and community projects align with the strategies and initiatives of the Actions plans created, a review should be undertaken to ensure the tactics are congruent, duplication of effort and resources are mitigated, and opportunities for co-‐ordination and streamlining are realized. Creation of a Community Development Oversight Committee: Notwithstanding each initiative will require its own implementation team, it is important that oversight of the entire the overall plan is in place. Those responsible should:

• Have (or have been granted) the authority to make decisions related to the projects/initiatives, • Possess the knowledge, expertise, availability, and desire to take the role, • Bring diversity of perspective (i.e. include, youth, elders, women), and • Ensure the projects are viewed by the community as having our best interest in mind.

Prioritization of Tactics: To identify which projects/initiatives the community intends to pursue, and the order in which it plans to implement, the Oversight Committee will need to establish a set of assessment criteria to include such items as:

• Level of identified need4 • Funding sources and cost sharing opportunities • Resource allocation (time, money, effort) • Site selection and design (if applicable) • Project timing and duration • Level of internal/external expertise required • Number of jobs created • Timing and project duration

4 Determining assessment criteria will allow the Committee to short-‐list those opportunities that it plans to focus on in an objective manner.


Choose a Implementation Team Lead (Champion): The Edmonton Community Plan identifies a need to ensure the full support of all stakeholders. This full support should include the identification of a program and service delivery leader who will step forward to act as an agent to its success, creating a persistent method to effectively open doors and spearhead progress. Continued Involvement of the Community Members: The Edmonton Community plan has identified important components of involving grassroots citizens/membership. While full implementation may be a timely process, the involvement of a diverse group of community representatives is important in a move toward maturity (i.e. including, youth, elders, women and regional First Nation and Métis Stakeholders). Understanding the Stakeholder’s Goals in Strategic Plans: Each of the participant stakeholders must assess individual strategic planning processes and where and/or how the Urban Aboriginal Strategies might be incorporated within or in conjunction to those plans. These should be supported by their respective leadership and/or governmental regimes, governing bodies, and business entities, and then communicated to citizens of the community. A detailed listing, of existing owned and operated businesses, should be created, so corporate and other economic entities can step-‐up and work closely with health/social agencies for the betterment of all. Advocate for Action against Unresolved Racial issues and Healing requirements: Throughout the project, there was a consistent concern for improving the historical message, resolving racism concerns, as well as the need to create enriched and holistic healing as a result of the various historical trauma (i.e. Indian Residential Schools, 60’s Scoop, and the overall poor systemic treatment of Indigenous people in Canada). Although the process of creating healthy communities includes the need for better employment, health and social services, etc., there is a need for citizens of all ethnicities to stand up and renounce the unhealthy practices that plaque the Aboriginal and Non-‐Aboriginal community as well as the lateral inequities amongst various segments of our communities (whether perceived or literally experienced). Conduct Feasibility Studies and Prepare Business Case: Many of the initiatives are preliminary in thought and tactics, and will require additional research and input before implementation. Therefore it will be incumbent on the implementation Lead and the Oversight Committee to conduct the necessary feasibility studies and/or business cases for each in order to assure itself of its actions, and to obtain the appropriate level of political, community, and traditional and non-‐traditional financial support. Creation of an Effective Communications Plan: Although each initiative has an element of communication planning, the overall plan will require a focused and consistent message in order to gain community awareness and momentum. Such a plan will provide the framework for ensuring that information is shared with appropriate audiences on a timely basis in the most effective manner. Internal knowledge transfer, public awareness and participation in activities, media campaigns, launches and advertising promotions are all important elements of an overall communication plan. Effective communication with external stakeholders will help in attracting potential investment, and partnerships, which in turn will result in improved economic benefit for the Community as a whole. Additionally, open and candid internal communication will build goodwill amongst the stakeholders and aid in meeting the requirements of accountability and transparency.


A detailed communications plan should be developed to include the following: o Promotion of two-‐way communication between and amongst: the various agencies and service providers,

committees, and funding partners; o Current and potential external stakeholders (municipal, provincial, federal governments, industry, and

special interest groups); • A tracking system designed for community compliments and complaints to ensure they are being addressed in a

regular basis; • A variety of communication avenues (press releases, newsletters, advertisements, etc.) and targeted messages to

accommodate the various projects/initiatives; • A semi-‐annual community open house session to ensure that community members have an opportunity to learn of

on-‐going and planned projects and are given the option to provide feedback and/or input; and • The appointment of a skilled spokesperson (public relations training required) to be responsible for designing and

conveying all forms of external communiqué particularly those pertaining to government, special interest groups, industry and/or media.