Appendix D – Engaging Indigenous Partners

Engaging and collaborating with Indigenous partners, including those who are First Nations, Inuit and Métis, is an important part of local community safety and well-being efforts. Ontario has the largest Indigenous population in Canada, with 85 per cent of Indigenous peoples in Ontario living in urban and rural areas.1 Indigenous peoples are also the youngest, most diverse and rapidly growing population2 in Canada and continue to present unparalleled opportunities through their values, innovative practices and approaches that can enhance the lives of all Canadians.

Cultural responsiveness is crucial to the community safety and well-being planning process and should be captured in the development of strategies and programs that are identified in local plans. By including community specific culture and identity as part of planning, it will enable the development of sustainable and strategic programming at the local level. Communities should acknowledge that effective planning involves understanding and responding to the unique factors and inequalities that different groups face. For example, Indigenous peoples may face specific risk factors due to the impact of historical events, such as colonialism and assimilation policies. In addition, social emergencies that overwhelm services in Indigenous communities can also impact services delivered by surrounding municipalities.

Building relationships with Indigenous partners early in the planning process can help ensure that local plans incorporate the strengths, perspectives, contributions and needs of Indigenous peoples, organizations and communities. By respecting each other’s priorities and perspectives, municipalities can build trust with Indigenous partners. This can also help to develop relationships, respond to potentially challenging issues and work collaboratively to achieve social and economic well-being for all community members.

This section has been developed as a guide for municipalities that are undertaking the community safety and well-being planning process in understanding how to meaningfully engage and collaborate with Indigenous partners.

Outcomes of Indigenous Engagement

The following are some of the positive outcomes that can be realized by working with Indigenous partners as part of the community safety and well-being planning process:

• Creating and supporting communities where Indigenous peoples feel safe, have a sense of belonging, and are seen as equal contributors to the decisions that affect community safety and well-being;
• Establishing partnerships and positive relationships founded in mutual respect;
• Gaining an understanding of, and better responding to, the lived realities of Indigenous peoples and the intergenerational trauma that they face;
• Acknowledging and addressing systemic biases within existing systems and breaking down stereotypes impacting Indigenous peoples;
• Co-developing culturally relevant solutions to meet the unique and diverse needs of Indigenous peoples;

• 1 Statistics Canada, 2016 Census
• 2 Statistics Canada, 2016 Census