November 13, 2015
RE: Open Call for Submissions for input into the Provincial Urban Aboriginal Action Plan
Dear Ontario Urban Aboriginal Communities, Agencies and Organizations,
In the Budget 2014, the Provincial Government, through the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs (MAA), committed to the creation of an Urban Aboriginal Action Plan over three years. The goal of the action plan is to improve socio-economic outcomes for Aboriginal peoples living in urban communities in Ontario. Through this initiative, MAA committed to coordinate an engagement strategy in consultation with communities, municipalities and the federal government to better align programming directed towards urban Aboriginal communities.
The Aboriginal partners of the Urban Aboriginal Policy and Off-reserve Policy Engagement Table (UAPET), the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) and the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA), are collaborating with MAA to implement key initiatives for the Urban Aboriginal Action Plan, including coordination of local and provincial engagement strategies.
The MNO, the OFIFC, and ONWA have hosted or are hosting ten Local Urban Aboriginal Gatherings across the province in Ottawa, Timmins, Midland, Dryden, Fort Frances, Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton, Kenora, Thunder Bay, and Niagara. See the chart below for dates/locations.
|
# |
Community |
Lead/Host |
Date |
Location |
|
1 |
Ottawa |
MNO |
August 28, 2015 |
Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health |
|
2 |
Timmins |
OFIFC |
September 16, 2015 |
Timmins Native Friendship Centre |
|
3 |
Midland |
MNO |
September 17, 2015 |
Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre |
|
4 |
Dryden |
OFIFC |
September 23, 2015 |
Dryden Native Friendship Centre |
|
5 |
Fort Frances |
MNO |
September 23, 2015 |
Sunset Métis Council Hall |
|
6 |
Sault Ste. Marie |
MNO |
September 29, 2015 |
Grand Gardens Centre |
|
7 |
Hamilton |
OFIFC |
October 1, 2015 |
Hamilton Regional Indian Centre |
|
8 |
Kenora |
OFIFC |
October 27, 2015 |
Ne’chee Friendship Centre |
|
9 |
Thunder Bay |
ONWA |
November 10, 2015 |
ONWA Programs Office (380 Ray Blvd) |
|
10 |
Niagara |
OFIFC |
TBC |
Niagara Regional Native Centre |
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal local and regional decision-makers that have an important role to play in improving the coordination of program and service delivery systems for Aboriginal people in urban communities were invited to participate, and so far, dozens of organisations have participated.
Now, the MNO, the OFIFC, and ONWA are putting out an open call for submissions to urban Aboriginal communities, organizations and agencies across the province to provide input and identify wise practices in the field of urban Aboriginal partnerships, networking and community development to supplement the information we have received so far.
Your community/agency/organization is invited to provide input into the development of the MAA Urban Aboriginal Action Plan which is currently being implemented over the next two years. The Discussion Guide attached outlines the key questions discussed at the gatherings. If you would like to provide a written submission in response to the discussion questions in the guide attached with your input, please see details below.
Submissions must be received no later than Tuesday, December 15th. Please ensure the name of the community/agency/organization submitting is identified, a contact person is included and the responses are organized according to the questions in the discussion guide. Please attach the submission in a Word document or PDF and send to both ginnyg@metisnation.org and knesbeth@ofifc.org.
An email will be sent confirming receipt of your submission. A final copy of the larger consolidated report submitted to the MAA based on the ten community gatherings and feedback from this open call will be sent to all those who provided input into its development.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you,
Ginny Gonneau
Policy Analyst, Education and Training Branch
Métis Nation of Ontario
Toll free: 1-800-263-4889
ginnyg@metisnation.org
Kimberly Nesbeth
Policy Analyst, Urban Aboriginal Issues
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centers
Toll free: 1-800-772-9291
knesbeth@ofifc.org