TORONTO — The City of Toronto has unveiled a proposed 10-year plan for reconciliation with its Indigenous residents.
The 2022-2032 Reconciliation Action Plan is aimed at healing the many traumas Indigenous people have been subjected to, including forced displacement, cultural erasure and systemic racism.
The plan would see the city conduct reconciliation audits “to eliminate systemic barriers that contribute to the ongoing oppression of Indigenous Peoples.”
The 28 actions also include having Mayor John Tory apologize to Metis people this year for the city’s role in sending soldiers to fight against them in the Prairies in the 1880s.
It also sets a goal of creating 5,200 affordable and supportive housing units for Indigenous residents, to be delivered by Indigenous housing providers.
If adopted, the document is to be reviewed every two years, with staff recommending “modifications and adaptations” to city council.
The executive committee will review the plan on March 30, and the report will be considered by city council the following week.
Tory has already put his name behind the plan, positioning it as “part of the long-awaited and necessary changes that must be made.”
“As the largest municipality in Canada and home to a large and diverse population of First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples, it’s essential that the City of Toronto be a leader in advancing truth, justice and reconciliation,” he said in a statement.
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