Whereas over the past decade Canadians have become increasingly conscious of some tragic moments in our national history related to our treatment of our First Nations Communities, and have begun to take action to repair these past wrongs and the damage that they have caused;
Whereas the Truth Reconciliation Commission was set up in 2007 to tackle these difficult and complex past injustices and find ways to repair the relationships with our First Nations Communities. The commission heard the experiences from over 6000 survivors of the Indian Residential School System in Canada;
Whereas the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published a final report in 2015, related to the subject of reconciliation and rebuilding positive relationships with our First Nations Communities;
Whereas contained in this report are 94 recommendations outlining the positive steps that need to taken to reconcile relationships with our First Nations citizens and in doing so create a stronger, more inclusive, and more vibrant national fabric;
Whereas, all citizens and levels of government in Canada, including the municipal government in Richmond Hill, have an important role to play toward this goal;
Whereas in October 2017 Richmond Hill hosted a locally organized, and very successful community event called The Secret Path: Walking Toward Reconciliation. This event included the first ever public screening of The Secret Path by Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire and a follow up community discussion around the issues of reconciliation;
Therefore be it resolved that in order to build on the success of initiatives such as The Walking Toward Reconciliation event, and in the spirit of the goals of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, Richmond Hill staff be directed to explore the possibilities of creating a new park, or redevelop an existing park or other public space, honouring our First Nations Community with special attention paid to creating community awareness and education consistent with some of the threads of the Truth and Reconciliation report;
Be it further resolved that this space, while serving a purpose of helping to educate our citizens about the history of our relations with our First Nations People, it may also periodically serve as a space for all the members of our community to gather to celebrate our First Nations Peoples;
Be it further resolved that staff consult with members of the First Nation Community and those in the wider community seeking reconciliation, to hear input on how to most appropriately move forward with this initiative;
Be it further resolved that staff report back to Council with a recommendation based on their findings, once this investigation is complete.