Municipal Calls to Action

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report calls on municipalities to deliver specific outcomes for the following 5 Calls to Action:

Call to Action	Description	Specific Outcome
C2A # 43	UN Declaration (UNDRIP)	Fully adopt and implement UNDRIP as the framework for reconciliation
C2A # 47	Royal Proclamation and Covenant	Repudiate Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius
C2A # 57	PD and Training for Public Servants	Provide education to civil servants on Indigenous issues, histories and treaties
C2A # 75	Missing Children and Burial Information	Develop and implement strategies and procedures for ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration and protection of residential school cemeteries
C2A # 77	National Centre for Truth and reconciliation	All archives to collaborate with National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation on collection of all records

City or Edmonton Commitment to Reconciliation

Indigenous Framework

The Indigenous Framework was endorsed by Edmonton City Council in February 2021.

The City of Edmonton Indigenous Framework: “builds upon the City of Edmonton’s historical work of the Urban Aboriginal Accord and it is broadly informed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice.

This City initiative intends to help guide City staff on their journeys of reconciliation and is predicated on building and maintaining positive and respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples. This journey of reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

For this to happen, there has to be an awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour. While the City of Edmonton has not yet met this goal, this Framework provides the guidance to begin our journey there. 

The three main elements of the Framework (guiding principles, four roles, and seven commitments) are meant to guide City staff on their learning journeys of reconciliation and relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples. 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Relationships

Enhance and promote positive perceptions and attitudes between Indigenous communities and the City of Edmonton by: 

• listening carefully to one another; 
• acting respectfully towards one another; 
• recognizing and respecting each others’ protocols and processes; 
• honouring each others’ values; and 
• understanding and appreciating that we are all connected. 

Agreements

Explore and create agreements that enrich community life by:

• creating solutions that work for everyone; 
• respecting the knowledge and experience of Indigenous community members, business leaders and professionals;
• recognizing each other’s responsibilities; and 
• ensuring that agreements acknowledge the past and focus on the interests of future generations. 

Celebrations

Share the gifts of our relationship by: 

• identifying the milestones of this growing relationship;
• sharing the stories of our relationship; 
• marking and recording our relationship successes; and
• celebrating our achievements together. 

Renewal

• Renew and strengthen this relationship by: 
• honouring the spirit and intent of this Framework; 
• utilizing this Framework to guide our learning and relationships;
  acknowledging this Framework as a living document to be reviewed periodically to
  maintain accountability, transparency, inclusiveness and responsiveness; and 
• continually rejuvenating and re-committing to this Framework. 

FOUR ROLES

The four roles explain how each employee can embody the Framework within their everyday work. These roles act as ‘guiding lights,’ 

Listener:       We listen, with open hearts and minds, when Indigenous Peoples share their stories and experiences.” 

Connector:   We connect Indigenous Peoples to the programs, services, people, and resources that enrich the community and foster relationships to create positive change.” 

Advocate:     We stand with Indigenous Peoples to create a safe and inclusive city where everyone
is treated with dignity and respect.” 

Partner:        We work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples on initiatives to improve the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being of Indigenous Peoples in Edmonton.” 

SEVEN COMMITMENTS

These seven commitments are how the City of Edmonton will strive to honour and enact the Framework through its policies, programs, and services.

Each City of Edmonton Department will be responsible for creating and implementing an action plan detailing how it will fulfill each of the following corporate-wide commitments:

1. Support the journey of Reconciliation by applying the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a foundation for the Indigenous Framework.
2. In partnership with organizations, businesses, academic institutions, other orders of government, and individual citizens, eliminate the systemic racism and discrimination that Indigenous Peoples face in Edmonton. 
3. Identify and implement ways to make City spaces and buildings welcoming and safe for Indigenous Peoples and ensure they can see themselves reflected in the City’s spaces and places.  
4. Support all City staff to build relationships that honour the four roles of the Framework within their interactions with Indigenous Peoples and increase staff’s knowledge of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and world views through education and learning opportunities.
5. Host and participate in events where the City of Edmonton, including Council, senior leadership and all levels of administration, and Indigenous Peoples can build relationships, and celebrate our journey together.
6. Identify and remove the systemic barriers that exist for Indigenous people in gaining employment with the City of Edmonton and create career development opportunities for Indigenous employees.
7. Ensure Indigenous Peoples and City staff are informed and engaged, when appropriate, on actions the City of Edmonton takes in relation to the Indigenous Framework.” 

Going Forward

The Indigenous Framework set the stage for our TRC Municipal Response Plan and MMIWG2S+ Action Plan — both approved by Edmonton City Council in fall 2022 and created to advance our reconciliation journey by responding to as many of the calls to action and calls for justice as possible. It also works alongside the City of Edmonton’s Anti-racism Strategy, which supports our commitment to truth and reconciliation and brings our community together on a path to eliminating racism.

Recognizing that the City of Edmonton has limited jurisdiction, and that reconciliation is a multigenerational process, these plans are designed as living initiatives that grow and evolve in response to the priorities of Indigenous Peoples in Edmonton, and as our reconciliation and learning journeys continue. 

We are in the process of launching a virtual dashboard that will share and detail our progress on these efforts.

City of Edmonton Progress in Advancing Truth and Reconciliation: 4 out of 4 = 100%

Call to Action # 43         The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Aboriginal Peoples We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation

Yes. Foundational to the Indigenous framework In February 2021, the City of Edmonton launched the Indigenous Framework that builds upon the City of Edmonton’s historical work on the Urban Aboriginal Accord (August 30, 2005), and is informed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) calls to action, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) calls for justice.  The Indigenous Framework helps City of Edmonton staff understand their role in the reconciliation process, and empowers them to forge stronger connections to the descendants of the original inhabitants of this land. This initiative also includes seven commitments co-created with Indigenous community members, including elders and knowledge keepers, to enact the framework through municipal policies, programs and services. The first of these commitments involves supporting reconciliation by applying the TRC calls to action, the MMIWG calls for justice and UNDRIP as a foundation for the Indigenous Framework.  While more work is required to identify opportunities for adopting and implementing UNDRIP, we support several committees that ensure the Indigenous Framework is applied throughout City of Edmonton departments. Indigenous Framework annual reports share the progress of these efforts, as well as regular gatherings with local partners who belong to, or work with, Indigenous communities and provide feedback that guides our process.

Call to Action # 47    Royal Proclamation and Covenant of ReconciliationWe call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous peoples and lands, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius, and to reform those laws, government policies, and litigation strategies that continue to rely on such concepts.

Yes. Through various policy and position statements and municipal actions Indigenous sovereignty and autonomy are within Edmonton’s City Hall’s Declaration: Strengthening Relationships Between the City of Edmonton and Urban Aboriginal people, (30 August 2005) where it states: “We recognize that Aboriginal Peoples have not surrendered their rights to autonomy. Aboriginal Peoples were autonomous at the time of contact and yet have endured regulation for generations. In Canada, the Constitution Act of 1982 recognized and affirmed existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. The Government of Canada in a 1995 federal policy statement recognized the inherent right of self-government as an existing Aboriginal right under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982” The City of Edmonton acknowledges that the traditional land on which we reside is in Treaty 6 territory. We also acknowledge this place as a Métis homeland and home to one of the largest communities of Inuit south of the 60th parallel. In the spirit of cooperation, understanding and dialogue, we are party to memorandums with local Indigenous communities and groups. Several of these documents recognize the autonomy and inherent rights of the signatories, as well as the harms caused by colonization and the dispossession of lands, territories and resources. In 2021, Edmonton City Council approved an Urban Reserve Strategy, which creates a framework for the City of Edmonton to work with First Nations interested in developing reserve lands within city boundaries. As a municipality that is home to one of the largest urban Indigenous populations in Canada, we are in a unique position to help First Nations realize goals enabled through urban reserves, such as: * The ability to provide support and services for members in the Edmonton area; * Space to provide employment and training opportunities for members; and * The preservation of culturally significant sites; The City of Edmonton also acknowledges that Canada has a duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples. We have proactively included and engaged 32 First Nations and Métis organizations on infrastructure and planning projects in the North Saskatchewan River valley, or when a duty to consult is triggered. Moreover, we are developing a training program for municipal departments that may have a duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples, and for cases where engaging Indigenous communities is a critical part of land development. We expect to pilot this training program in early 2024, followed by an evaluation period to determine future programming. Additionally, the City of Edmonton created a learning resource to teach employees about the importance of Indigenous land acknowledgment, which offers an opportunity to reflect on the history of amiskwacîwâskahikan (beaver hills house in Cree), the place we now call Edmonton. Our official land acknowledgement is available to the public on the Indigenous Relations Office webpage, and appears on every device connecting to our Open City Wi-Fi network.

Call to Action # 57    Professional Development and Training for Public Servants We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to provide education to public servants 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.

Yes. Course is mandatory for all city staff Commitment # 4 of the City of Edmonton Indigenous Framework (November 2021) states : “Support all City staff to build relationships that honour the 4 roles of the Framework within their interactions with Indigenous Peoples and increase staff’s knowledge of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and world views through education and learning opportunities.”All staff are required to participate in this training program, which includes topics on Indigenous history, as well as the history and legacy of residential schools. Participants are also introduced to treaties, Indigenous rights and Indigenous-Crown relations.  Through this program, employees receive supplemental learning resources on topics that include the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the ‘60s Scoop and the final reports from both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We also provide a series of anti-racism courses that complement the Indigenous awareness training program. To date, nearly 1,500 staff have received additional training on diversity, equity, inclusion and systemic racism — all provided by the City of Edmonton’s Employee Services division.  Additionally, the City of Edmonton hosts events with Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, youth and partners from the community to teach staff about Indigenous traditions, worldviews and personal experiences. We also organize seminars and presentations to help employees understand their role in the reconciliation process and learn about the City of Edmonton’s implementation of the Indigenous Framework, our guide to building strong relationships with Indigenous Peoples. For example, the committee dedicated to implementing the Indigenous Framework with the Community Recreation and Culture branch hired two summer students to deliver workshops that train employees to engage with the framework. From May to September 2023, more than 1,200 staff from that branch participated in the workshops, along with others seeking to provide similar programming for other municipal departments. We plan to continue providing these workshops and expand programming in 2024.

Call to Action # 75       Missing Children and Burial Information We call upon the federal government to work with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried. This is to include the provision of appropriate memorial ceremonies and commemorative markers to honour the deceased children.

Not applicable. There are no former residential school sites within Edmonton. The Edmonton Residential School was approximately 10 miles northwest of downtown Edmonton near the town of St. Albert. According to Remembering the Children (2023): “The Edmonton Residential School replaced the Red Deer Residential School, which had closed in 1919”.  While the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation does not identify former residential school sites within City of Edmonton boundaries, we are working to support the creation of a residential school monument in Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, in response to call to action No. 82. This project is in the early stages of development, and follows a successful partnership with Alberta’s government to unveil a Treaty 6 monument at the Alberta legislature grounds in 2022. Additionally, the City of Edmonton began updating a commemorative infrastructure policy in August 2021. This work aims to provide an inclusive approach to commemorative projects, such as statues and monuments, in relation to policy work surrounding truth and reconciliation as well as community safety and well-being. City administration expects to submit the policy to a committee of Edmonton City Council in early 2024.

Call to Acton # 77     National Centre for Truth and ReconciliationWe call upon provincial, territorial, municipal, and community archives to work collaboratively with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to identify and collect copies of all records relevant to the history and legacy of the residential school system, and to provide these to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Yes. To the degree that Edmonton has any records they will share with the NCTR While the city archivist found no records in our archives from the Edmonton Residential School, which is located outside City of Edmonton boundaries, we have informed the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation about an archival photograph collection that includes Indigenous Peoples.

The Alberta Municipalities’ Municipal Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action identifies 12 Calls to Action for Municipalities to consider:

• 3, 17, 40, 45iii, 57, 66, 69iii, 77 and 93
• 75, 79iii, 82 for those municipalities located near a former residential school site

Those highlighted in BOLD are addressed in this document

Other Calls to Action

Call to Action # 5        Child Welfare We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families

Yes. Delivered through Family and Community Support Services Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) funds preventive social service programs through a partnership between the Government of Alberta and municipalities. FCSS approved funding for 2023 includes programming in Edmonton for Indigenous parents and caregivers that involves ceremony as well as cultural teachings and perspectives. In late 2023, the City of Edmonton added two new streams to the Community Safety and Well-being Grant for intervention (including early intervention) and collaboration. Priorities for the intervention stream include programming that addresses issues at an early stage before more intensive support is required for children, youth, adults or families. .

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

Yes. Delivered through Family and Community Support Services Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) funds preventive social service programs through a partnership between the Government of Alberta and municipalities. FCSS approved funding for 2023 includes programs in Edmonton for Indigenous children and youth that involve ceremony, elders and knowledge keepers as well as cultural teachings, supports and perspectives.  In late 2023, the City of Edmonton added two new streams to the Community Safety and Well-being Grant for intervention (including early intervention) and collaboration. Priorities for the intervention stream include programming (for children, youth, adults or families) that addresses issues at an early stage before more intensive support is required.

Call to Action # 17       Language and Culture We call upon all levels of government to enable residential school Survivors and their families to reclaim names changed by the residential school system by waiving administrative costs for a period of five years for the name-change process and the revision of official identity documents, such as birth certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, health cards, status cards, and social insurance numbers.

Yes. In Progress. The City of Edmonton is assessing the ability for people to use reclaimed names when accessingmunicipal programs and services.

Call to Action # 22     Health We call upon those who can effect change within the Canadian health-care system to recognize the value of Aboriginal healing practices and use them in the treatment of Aboriginal patients in collaboration with Aboriginal healers and Elders where requested by Aboriginal patients.

Yes. In Progress The federal government notes that “the organization of Canada’s health care system is largely determined by the Canadian Constitution, in which roles and responsibilities are divided between the federal, and provincial and territorial governments. The provincial and territorial governments have most of the responsibility for delivering health and other social services.” However, the City of Edmonton’s TRC Municipal Response Plan aims to advocate for and address as many of the calls to action as possible, such as supporting the development of healing lodges in Edmonton. We are currently working with partners to identify opportunities to advocate for these spaces

Call to Action # 23    Health We call upon all levels of government to: * Increase the number of Aboriginal professionals working in the health care field. * Ensure the retention of Aboriginal health-care providers in Aboriginal communities * Provide cultural competency training for all health-care professional

No. Not explicitly addressed The federal government notes that “the organization of Canada’s health care system is largely determined by the Canadian Constitution, in which roles and responsibilities are divided between the federal, and provincial and territorial governments. The provincial and territorial governments have most of the responsibility for delivering health and other social services.”

Call to Action # 55       National Council 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: * 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. * Comparative funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves. * Educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with non-Aboriginal people. * 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. * Progress on eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in youth custody over the next decade. * Progress on reducing the rate of criminal victimization of Aboriginal people, including data related to homicide and family violence victimization and other crimes. * Progress on reducing overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in justice and correctional systems

Limited. Federal Bill C-29, an act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation, has notreceived royal assent. The bill’s status is currently at consideration in the House of Commons ofamendments made by the Senate.However, the City of Edmonton publicly shares Indigenous Framework annual reports to provide updateson our reconciliation efforts, as well as regular reports on the implementation of our TRC MunicipalResponse Plan and MMIWG2S+ Action Plan

Call to Action # 66       Youth We call upon the federal government to establish multi-year funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs on reconciliation, and establish a national network to share information and best practices.

Limited. Offered as part of broader-based community initiatives While this call to action is directed at the federal government, the City of Edmonton has developed an operating grant for Indigenous-led organizations. This grant program prioritizes funding for eligible organizations that support: * The resurgence of Indigenous Peoples’ culture, language, identity and ceremonies * Safe, inclusive and healing spaces * Increased awareness and/or responses to historical colonialism, trauma and violence * Education, training, employment and economic security for Indigenous PeoplesLearning and research The City of Edmonton has several other programs to support Indigenous communities in Edmonton,including anti-racism grants and community safety and well-being grants. We also partnered with iHuman Youth Society in 2022 on a public art project that saw Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists collaborate in the spirit of reconciliation.

Call to Action # 76       Missing Children and Burial Information We call upon the parties engaged in the work of documenting, maintaining, commemorating, and protecting residential school cemeteries to adopt strategies in accordance with the following principles:  * The Aboriginal community most affected shall lead the development of such strategies. * Information shall be sought from residential school Survivors and other Knowledge Keepers in the development of such strategies.  * Aboriginal protocols shall be respected before any potentially invasive technical inspection and investigation of a cemetery site.

Not applicable.  There are no former residential school sites within Edmonton.See Call to Action # 75 above

Call to Action # 87       Sports and Reconciliation We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.

Limited.   In August 2023, the City of Edmonton worked with the Alberta Indigenous Games to celebrate arecord-breaking year of growth for the annual athletic tournament, and helped share that story with thepublic. We also honour the legacy of Alex Decoteau, an Indigenous veteran, athlete and Edmonton policeofficer who was inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame.

Land Acknowledgement

Located on City of Edmonton – Home Page

Edmonton rests in the heart of Treaty Six territory in Alberta and the homelands of the Metis Nation.

Located on Indigenous Relations Office – Home Page

The City of Edmonton acknowledges the traditional land on which we reside, is in Treaty Six Territory. We would like to thank the diverse Indigenous Peoples whose ancestors’ footsteps have marked this territory for centuries, such as nêhiyaw (Nay-hee-yow) / Cree, Dene (Deh-neyh), Anishinaabe (Ah-nish-in-ah-bay) / Saulteaux (So-toe), Nakota Isga (Na-koh-tah ee-ska) / Nakota Sioux (Na-koh-tah sue), and Niitsitapi (Nit-si-tahp-ee) / Blackfoot peoples. We also acknowledge this as the Métis’ (May-tee) homeland and the home of one of the largest communities of Inuit south of the 60th parallel. It is a welcoming place for all peoples who come from around the world to share Edmonton as a home. Together we call upon all of our collective, honoured traditions and spirits to work in building a great city for today and future generations.  

NOTE: All content was submitted to the City of Edmonton to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The City of Edmonton responded to our correspondence. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Lead Researcher, Timothy Maton: Ph.D