Municipal-aboriginal advisory committees in four Canadian cities: 1999-2014.

Heritz, Joanne

Despite a growing middle class (Parriag and Chaulk 2013), and a significant population base, Aboriginal peoples (1) remain politically underrepresented at the local level and "tend to be viewed solely as marginal populations in need of assistance, not as valued assets or productive contributors to urban localities" (Horak 2012:148). It is crucial to their political participation to locate and analyze the extent to which Aboriginal peoples are acknowledged and represented in local governing systems. A recent development has been the creation of Aboriginal advisory entities in the city halls in several large urban centres: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, and Ottawa. While these entities are relatively new additions to the administration of local government, most have existed long enough to conduct an exploratory study of their emergence, mandates, location in city government and bureaucracy, and the issues they take up inside government and with nearby Aboriginal communities.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to select four examples, referred to as Aboriginal Relations/Advisory Committees (ARACs): Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee in Vancouver; Aboriginal Relations Office in Edmonton; Aboriginal Relations Division in Winnipeg; and Aboriginal Affairs Community Advisory Committee in Toronto. Next, to shed light on these cases by identifying their mandates, responsibilities, and where they are located in municipal governments. This paper examines how urban Aboriginal peoples are represented in what some argue, are systems of colonization, and whether their issues are addressed at the local level.

The paper begins by introducing urban Aboriginal governance and issues articulated by urban Aboriginal peoples. Then, reports on the findings compiled from interviews conducted with ARACs in the four selected cities, followed by the discussion. I conclude by proposing directions for future research regarding Aboriginal advisory committees in local government.

Background

Cities are now home to over half of all Aboriginal peoples in Canada and over half of this group live in large urban centres (Statscan 2011). Although policy historically confined most Aboriginal peoples to reserves, they have inhabited urban centres due to their disenfranchisement and other factors governed by the Indian Act. Beginning in the 1920s, Aboriginal peoples more generally migrated to cities to further their education and find work. They also enlisted in the military and the war effort and through their training and in technical schools became nurses, secretaries and teachers (Howard 2011: 91). Friendship centres were established to assist Aboriginal peoples with their urban transition by meeting the cultural, social and recreational needs (Manitowabi 2011: 111) a focal point for urban Aboriginal community building (Howard 2011).

In the 1960s, an increasing number of Aboriginal peoples moved to urban centres only to discover that "few jobs existed for those with only an elementary school education and little or no vocational skills or training" (McCue 1994: 386). Racial discrimination was another aspect of the urban migration: "refusal of accommodation and restaurant services; eviction from rental housing without due process; reluctance to hire Indians; and most frustrating of all, bureaucratic delays and lack of interest on the part of both provincial and federal governments" (McCue 1994: 387). The migration of Aboriginal peoples from reserves, which were under the jurisdiction of the federal government, to urban centres accentuated the devolution of responsibility of Aboriginal peoples to the provinces in recent years.

In the mid-1990s the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) determined that all levels of government have constitutional responsibilities for "the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada" (Canada 1982), including those residing in urban centres (RCAPv2Part1.1996: 85-86). A recent federal court decision (Daniels v. Canada 2013) confirmed federal responsibility for non-status Indians and Metis, most of whom reside in urban centres (Canada 2013). The Federal Court in Canada v. Misquadis defined off-reserve Aboriginal peoples as "self-organized, self-determining, and distinct communities" (Belanger 2013: 68). These decisions complemented the growing centrality of cities as non-reserve governance milieus for Aboriginal peoples at the turn of the twenty-first century.

An example of a multi-level governance initiative is the federal Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS), launched in the late 1990s, which operates in thirteen cities whose combined Aboriginal population represents more than 25 percent of Canada's total Aboriginal population. (2) The UAS collaborates with provincial, local and community stakeholders in three project priority areas: improving life skills; promoting job training, skills and entrepreneurship; and supporting Aboriginal women, children and families (AAND 2015). Limited by a budget of $13.5 million for 2014/ 2015, the strengths of the UAS approach include: "its ability to adapt to local circumstances, its community-based approach, its allowance for federal information sharing and coordination, and its receiving strong provincial support" (Abele and Graham 2011: 48). In light of constitutional, legal decisions and shifts in jurisdictional authority, "no single level of government is required to take sole responsibility for the complex issues challenging urban Aboriginal communities, and no government is seen as establishing a precedent in assuming responsibility" (Peters 2011: 16).

Urban Aboriginal peoples are not represented by one specific political organization. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples was created in 1968 as a national rights-based organization representing the interests of Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve and "comprises an uneasy alliance of urban and off-reserve Aboriginal people, non-prairie Metis, non-Status, and C-31 Aboriginal people" not recognized by the Assembly of First Nations nor the National Association of Friendship Centres as a legitimate urban representative (Donovan 2011: 138-139). Commenting on contributions to his book on urban Aboriginal policy making in Alberta (Andersen and Strachan 2011), Manitoba (Walker, Moore and Linklater 2011), and Ontario (Abele et al. 2011), Young suggests that "Aboriginal representatives should be involved at all stages of the policy-making process" (Young 2011: 222). Providing special representation at the municipal level is important because as Young (2011: 214) notes, "Aboriginal people are different from the majority society. They have different histories, different cultures, and different political traditions; most important, they have different rights."

By focusing on advisory mechanisms established in four large urban centres in Canada to liaise with their numerically significant, under represented, urban Aboriginal populations, this study asks: How are urban Aboriginal peoples represented in ARACs? Where are they located in the machinery of local government? What urban Aboriginal issues are addressed by ARACs?

Methodology

This comparative qualitative case-study research project focused on the extent to which ARACs are engaged in urban Aboriginal policy formulation and implementation (Ragin 1987; Yin 2009: 18). Four urban centre cases were chosen from four provinces in Canada with significant Aboriginal populations, which were "selected on the basis of expectations about their information content" (Flyvbjerg 2011: 307). These urban centres have the greatest number of urban Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and were identified as Urban Aboriginal Strategy cities (AANDC 2014). While the Aboriginal Identity Population (individuals who identify as Aboriginal in census) in Canada is 1.4 million, the Aboriginal identity population of the selected urban centres of Vancouver (52,375), Edmonton (61,770), Winnipeg (78,415) and Toronto (36,990) adds up to just under 230,000, 16 percent of the total Aboriginal identity population in Canada (StatCan 2011). See Table 1.

This study was based on three sources of information. First, interviews were arranged with staff serving with ARACs, augmented by a snowball process to recruit potential participants associated with Aboriginal entities in the four city governments. Twelve interviews were conducted between August 2013 and February 2014 with ARAC staff (six), city government staff (two), elected municipal officials (two) and members of voluntary organizations directly involved with municipal ARACs (two). Not all participants agreed to have their names or affiliations reported. (3) Second, from these interviews and a review of city websites, key documents were gathered on the position of ARACs within the structure of local government. The information from these two sources provide background on the ARACs' formation, location within the municipal administration, staff complement, initiatives, services they are involved with, and their relationship with other governments or voluntary organizations that assist them in carrying out their mandate. Third, consulting commissions and surveys allows for a substantial scrutiny of issues articulated by Aboriginal peoples in the absence of a coherent set of municipal-provincial-federal goals regarding urban Aboriginal policy. Nationally based instruments were chosen to capture a broad base of participants, which included the four centres selected for this study. The chapters within Perspectives and Realities Volume 4 of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996) and the Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study (Environics Institute 2010) were instrumental in determining the issues crucial for urban Aboriginal peoples and the extent to which they align with the programs and services provided by ARACs. Not all Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous scholars, may look favourably on using these instruments to elicit Indigenous opinions, but they were useful for this exploratory study.

RCAP identified four critical issues articulated by urban Aboriginal peoples. First is "challenges to their cultural identity" (RCAPv4 1996: 520). RCAP explained that cultural identity is not a single element, rather a "state of being that involves being wanted, being comfortable, being a part of something bigger than oneself" (p. 524). RCAP also explained that most Canadians do not understand the practice of traditional Aboriginal cultures in cities because they have been taught narrow and inaccurate stereotypes of their culture (p. 523). Second is "exclusion from opportunities for self-determination" (p. 520). RCAP reported that an overwhelming majority of urban Aboriginal people in urban areas support efforts to run their own affairs (p. 584). The third critical issue is discrimination: "Racism is experienced through discrimination, bias, exclusion, stereotypes, lack of support and recognition, negative attitudes, alienation in the workplace and lack of role models in management positions ... It is unconscious, direct, individual, systemic and institutional" (p. 527). Fourth, is "the difficulty of finding culturally appropriate services" (p. 520). The Commission recommended that urban Aboriginal peoples should be involved in their design (RCAP v4 1996: 554). The Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study (Environics Institute 2010) not only verified that these four critical issues remain relevant 20 years later, but provided additional insights. It reported that urban Aboriginal peoples are more positive about their Aboriginal identity than at any time in the past (p. 42). However, two-thirds of those surveyed indicated that they themselves or a family member were students at a residential school or a provincial day school and half indicated that the residential school experience has had some impact in shaping their lives today (p. 55).

Aboriginal Relations/Advisory Committees (ARACs) in municipal government

This section presents the interview and document findings for the four ARACs. The next section will compare and discuss them.

Vancouver

Vancouver's Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee (UAPAC) was created in 2011 with a mandate to: "Coordinate Aboriginal consultation to the Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Communities; Facilitate decision making on municipal matters, such as community services, planning and design to regularize the consultation process; Create a system of collaborative decision making; Act as a catalyst to developments for Aboriginal Peoples in Vancouver; Act as an advisory and support body to the City; Provide advice and makes recommendation to Council on issues of concern to Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Communities" (Vancouver 2015). Interviewees explained that the sixteen member UAPAC is composed of voting members from Vancouver's Aboriginal community at large and non-voting members representing: City Council, City Manager's Office, Park Board and Vancouver School Board. Working out of the City Manager's Office, staff liaison for UAPAC is located in the Social Development Department and reports to the Assistant City Manager. While most of UAPAC's mandate is focused on social policy, Aboriginal affairs are not the mandate of a specific department. Rather Aboriginal programs are incorporated into departments such as Cultural Services, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Communications, while Police and Fire conduct their own programs. In Vancouver, urban Aboriginal peoples are represented by social service organizations that are members of the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council (MVAEC) whose mandate is to improve services and life for Aboriginal peoples. According to interviewees, the City recently initiated in camera Council-to-Council meetings with each of the three First Nations in Vancouver: Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

According to interviewees, two pivotal events led to engagement of Aboriginal peoples in Vancouver. The first was the recognition by the International Olympic Committee of the four host First Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The second was Vancouver's first declaration of a "Year of" on 21 June 2013 when Vancouver declared 2013-14 The Year of Reconciliation. UAPAC staff organized an Interdepartmental Committee and assisted with the conference for the Year of Reconciliation held in September 2013 (Vancouver 2013). Part of the conference was the Walk for Reconciliation opened by Bernice King (daughter of Martin Luther King Jr), which attracted 70,000 participants on an extremely windy and rainy day.

Interviewees noted that Engineering, Planning, Social Planning, Housing, Police, Parks and Recreation and the Library were invited to embrace the Year of Truth and Reconciliation for 2013-14. For example, volunteers and city employees were invited to share their Residential School experiences as part of the Lunch and Learn program and city staff attended the "Theatre for the Living" production. Another example of the engagement of various city departments in Aboriginal issues is the appointment of two Aboriginal members to Civic Asset Naming Committee. According to one interviewee, "most of Vancouver's street names are inanimate objects or people representing the dominant cultural and gendered focus of politics and business that does not adequately reflect Vancouver's history and these names may even be offensive to Aboriginal peoples who have suffered oppression and trauma."

While there is a growing awareness and support of Aboriginal peoples in Vancouver, the federal government continues to cancel programs. Youth centres in east Vancouver had their funding eliminated and while the city may be able to provide space in community centres, it lacks funding for high-risk youth programs.

Edmonton

The Aboriginal Relations Office (ARO), created in 2007, describes itself as "a welcoming place where Aboriginal people and organizations can: connect to the appropriate City of Edmonton department; and access City of Edmonton programs and services" (Edmonton 2015). The ARO specifically works to: build relations between the City of Edmonton, Aboriginal peoples and the organizations that serve them; increase Aboriginal participation in the City workforce; ensure City services address their needs; coordinate City participation in Aboriginal community initiatives; assist the City in fulfilling their Aboriginal Declaration and the Urban Aboriginal Accord; and support the Edmonton Urban Aboriginal Affairs Committee (Edmonton 2015).

The Declaration: Strengthening Relationships Between the City of Edmonton and Urban Aboriginal People, is a one page document passed by Council in 2005, structured by the following headings: Celebrating Past Aboriginal Contributions; Recognizing That Past Injustices Have Impacted Aboriginal Society; Acknowledging The Unique Challenges Facing Aboriginal People; Valuing Aboriginal Contributions Today; Appreciating The Legitimacy of Aboriginal Autonomy; and Aboriginal People In Our City's Future (Edmonton 2005). Building on the Declaration, The Urban Aboriginal Accord, is a principle-based relationship agreement written in 2006 which informs the administration of the City of Edmonton of the commitments established in the Aboriginal Declaration, based on the guiding principles of: relationships; agreements; celebrations; and renewal (Edmonton 2006).

The ARO is part of Community Services located in the City Manager's Office, staffed with two Aboriginal Relations Officers and two Community Building Social Workers and an Administrative Assistant. The ARO also consults and connects with the Diversity and Inclusion Unit of Edmonton City Police, who have undertaken their own uniform and civilian Aboriginal awareness programs over the past 10 years. An interviewee noted that during his swearing-in ceremony in the fall of 2013, newly elected mayor Don Avison mentioned Aboriginal peoples and Treaty 6 in his Welcoming Address.

The ARO staff created an Aboriginal Awareness Training program which started in 2010, ran until 2013 and is currently under review. Lunch and Learn programs complementing awareness training featured episodes from CBC's Eighth Fire followed by a discussion. ARO staff are also involved in employment programs that recruit, hire and retain Aboriginal candidates. The Edmonton Aboriginal Employees Resource Network (EAERN) is an Aboriginal workplace initiative in partnership with Edmonton, the province of Alberta and the federal government that develop business training programs. One respondent noted that Edmonton's transit program recruits, hires and retains Aboriginal drivers for buses and light rail services (LRSs). The City collaborates with Oteenow, a First Nations and Inuit employment service agency (ottenow.com). Youth leadership programs include Nikaniw, a program that recruits and trains youth between 15 and 22 years as swim instructors assisting them with bus and access passes to aquatic facilities.

Interviewees explained that within City Hall the Arts Council Naming Committee was addressing the absence of Aboriginal culture and history in the names of streets, parks and monuments in Edmonton. The City works closely with all First Nations whose traditional territories are part of the (North Saskatchewan) River Valley system that runs through the city. This means that changes to the river system, bridge building for example, must receive historical clearance by the province and depending on the section of the river valley, First Nations (includes Metis Nation Alberta, Treaty Conferences 6, 7 and 8, Blackfoot) must be consulted for clearance before any changes take place.

Interviewees noted that City Council liaisons occur with voluntary organizations and on an intergovernmental basis. Formed in 1994, the Edmonton Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee (EAUAC) is a volunteer committee made up of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people living in Edmonton, appointed by City Council. Meeting on a monthly basis, EAUAC liaises with: the Mayor and City Councillors through reports, meetings and special events; and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal citizens, agencies and organizations. An interviewee explained that the EAUAC was, at the time of writing, in hiatus. The City signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and Dialogue with Treaty 6 First Nations in 2012 (Edmonton 2012) and Memorandum of Shared Recognition and Cooperation with the Metis Nation of Alberta in 2013 (Edmonton 2013a). While each document is unique, they share similarities. For example, both documents affirm that Metis and Treaty 6 First Nations people have been part of Edmonton's development, that they have contributed to its unique and diverse cultures, that their well-being is directly linked to all people who live in Edmonton and that all parties are committed to ongoing conversations of shared interest which impact all people who make Edmonton their home. Edmonton also signed the Memorandum of Coordination and Collaboration with Alberta committing the province and city to purposes that include: youth leadership and development; economic development; transitions; supporting opportunities for Aboriginal women; and safe and secure communities (Edmonton 2013b).

These memoranda facilitate in bringing together representatives from the ARO, Province of Alberta, Treaty 6 and Metis Nation Alberta (MNA). Although the federal government is not formally included in the memos of understanding, their representatives regularly attend meetings.

Winnipeg

Five years ago Aboriginal issues were handled by a coordinator in the Community Services Department. Recently established in 2013, the Aboriginal Relations Division (ARD) within Corporate Support Services is headed by a Manager with five staff. Divided into "internal" (City Hall) and "external" (community) components, staff assist with Aboriginal recruitment and training programs, Wellness and Diversity and liaising with organizations that support Aboriginal clients. An Aboriginal Relations Leadership Team, consisting of senior staff from each department in City Hall, meets on a monthly basis to discuss Aboriginal issues.

Winnipeg's long-term planning document, Plan Winnipeg 2020 Vision, acknowledges increased Aboriginal participation in city affairs under the heading, "Promote Self-Reliant Aboriginal Communities" (Winnipeg n.d.: 20). First Steps: Municipal Aboriginal Pathways outlines a long-term planning process between Winnipeg's urban Aboriginal peoples and Council's commitment to increasing Aboriginal awareness and access to civic services. It is intended "to be utilized to increase awareness about civic services and to assist new Aboriginal residents in their transition to City life in Winnipeg" (Winnipeg 2003). The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Winnipeg, the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) formalizes the commitment of the three stakeholders to participate, "in developing strategies regarding training, recruitment and retention of Aboriginal employees at the City of Winnipeg" (Winnipeg 2005). Building on the successful collaboration of the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement, the Urban Aboriginal Strategy and the Aboriginal Youth Strategy, the The Memorandum of Collaboration signed in 2010 commits the three levels of government "to improve the socioeconomic outcomes for Aboriginal peoples in Winnipeg and the capacity of Aboriginal organizations" (Winnipeg 2010).

Aboriginal awareness programs for all city employees include workshops, short information sessions and certificate programs regarding Aboriginal history and culture. Recruitment, training and retention programs include a Paramedic Recruitment Program which has rim for approximately 5 years. While the hiring criteria are not adjusted for Aboriginal identity candidates, they are provided with supports (for example, assistance with paperwork and elder support). Five years ago the Aboriginal Youth Strategy (AYS) was launched and is funded at $1 million annually. The AYS provides positive opportunities for youth to get involved in their community through internships, scholarships and training opportunities.

One interviewee observed that the overall mandate of the ARD is to make government accessible to Aboriginal peoples. While there is a focus on employment, community services are also geared to reaching Aboriginal peoples. For example, libraries feature programs with elders and city employees work with Aboriginal people to engage youth in aquatic activities. ARD staff liaise with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations with programs that attract Aboriginal clients, such as Boys and Girls Clubs. Assistance includes, but is not confined to, providing: bus tickets, work passes, payments for criminal record checks, and assistance with driving tests. The ARD participates in the federally initiated Aboriginal Strategic Partnership Committee, part of the Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development, committed to increasing the participation of Aboriginal peoples in priority sectors of the economy, including forestry, fisheries, mining, energy and agriculture by building partnerships with Aboriginal groups, the private sector, the provinces and territories (AANDC 2014). ARD staff meet on a monthly basis with ten community representatives of Aboriginal political and community organizations as well as provincial and federal government representatives.

Winnipeg is the only large urban centre among the four cases with an Aboriginal political organization that includes First Nations, Metis, Inuit, urban Aboriginal organizations and Friendship Centres. The Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg (ACW) "exists to empower Winnipeg's Aboriginal community: to realize our individual and collective potential" (ACW 2014). It receives matched funding by AANDC and Manitoba Aboriginal and Northern Affairs (MANA) and meets quarterly. Its President chairs the Joint Management Table which is considered a negotiating table and is comprised of volunteers and government representatives (federal and provincial) and a non-voting representative from the City of Winnipeg (Manager Aboriginal Relations). Policy areas are referred to as portfolios and include Aboriginal education, training and employment, Aboriginal women and youth, Aboriginal economic development and an umbrella portfolio for emerging issues (at the time of writing it was restorative justice).

Toronto

The Aboriginal Advisory Committee (AAC) was founded in 1999 to advise Toronto City Council on Aboriginal affairs in addition to acting as a liaison between the Aboriginal community and City Council. It was located within the Office of Equity, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR). In July 2010 Toronto City Council adopted a Statement of Commitment to Aboriginal communities in Toronto entitled, Towards a Framework for Urban Aboriginal Relations in Toronto (Toronto 2010). An interviewee explained that when Toronto's new Council decided to discontinue committees after the 2010 municipal election, the AAC was one of only two committees retained on the strength of the Statement of Commitment. The AAC consists of executive directors of Aboriginal organizations in Toronto. It meets every 6 weeks and is co-chaired by a City Councillor and a member of the AAC Committee.

The City of Toronto recognizes Aboriginal peoples annually on National Aboriginal Day (June 21) with arts, crafts and drumming events. Since 2008 Louis Riel Day (a Metis celebration on November 16) has been recognized by the province of Ontario and 2010 was declared The Year of the Metis to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Batoche and the hanging of Louis Riel. Toronto also proclaimed 2013-14 as the Year of Truth and Reconciliation.

Toronto's Aboriginal awareness program for City employees includes group learning with elders and videos about Aboriginal peoples. The program was revised in 2014 by EDHR in to develop new teaching modules to address the historical and contemporary contexts of Aboriginal peoples living in Toronto. Another major initiative is to increase the representation of Aboriginal city employees to meet the city's policy of employment equity. Toronto has an arrangement with Miziwe Biik, the Aboriginal Employment and Training Program, where applications are monitored by the city to trace their progress through the hiring system. Related to Toronto, but outside of the EDHR, the police department has an Aboriginal Peacekeeping Unit staffed with Aboriginal officers.

To remedy the absence of Aboriginal representation on agencies, boards and commissions, city staff have been recruiting Aboriginal peoples to join when community appointments become vacant in 2015. The AAC works with various city departments regarding Aboriginal issues. For example, they work with the Parks Forestry and Recreation department in naming of trails and identifying the influence Aboriginal peoples had on the growth of Toronto.

The AAC participated in the Toronto Aboriginal Research Project (TARP) Report (McCaskill, FitzMaurice and Cidro 2011) with the Ontario Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, the Urban Aboriginal Strategy and the Toronto Homelessness Partnership Initiative. TARP was commissioned to inform stakeholders, policy actors, agencies and their officials of the current situation of Aboriginal peoples in Toronto. According to TARP, the Aboriginal population of Toronto is closer to 70,000 estimated by the organizations which serve the Aboriginal population (McCaskill, FitzMaurice and Cidro 2011: 78). Informed by survey data from 1,400 participants, TARP reported "problems such as poverty, the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, single-parent families, alcohol and drug addiction, school drop-out rates, racism, unemployment, physical and mental health problems, family violence, high rates of incarceration and lack of support for Aboriginal culture and identity continue to face many Aboriginal people in Toronto" (TASSC 2011: 363). Rather than viewing the Aboriginal community as victims with problems that require solving, the report emphasized the distinct place of Aboriginal peoples in Canadian society and the "need for positive social change and building a healthy and sustainable urban Aboriginal community in Toronto" (TASSC 2011:364).

Discussion

ARACs in large Canadian cities are relatively new. Their creation spans from Toronto's Aboriginal Advisory Committee 16 years ago, to Winnipeg's ARD 2 years ago. They are relatively small with minimal staff considering that the four urban centres are home to approximately one-fifth of Canada's Aboriginal identity population. The composition of Aboriginal entities differs in each case. Vancouver and Toronto have consultative committees composed of Aboriginal members of the community at large in Vancouver, but Toronto also includes representatives of Aboriginal voluntary organizations. Both have staff support in the City Manager's office. Edmonton and Winnipeg have specific offices within City Hall: Edmonton's is located in the City Manager's Office, and Winnipeg's ARD, in Corporate Support Services. All staff in the four ARACs identified as Aboriginal, yet none of the elected City Councillors did at the time of writing. None of the cities had ways for staff to self-identify their indigeneity. In addition to their work related to Aboriginal issues, City Councillors also meet at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' regularly scheduled conferences on a working group basis to discuss best practices regarding Aboriginal Affairs. As non-Aboriginals, they see the need to discuss crucial Aboriginal issues.

The creation of ARACs raises the issue of how programs and services for Aboriginal peoples should be located within local government. While some Aboriginal Relations/Advisory Committee staff and Councillors interviewed were adamant about having an Aboriginal office within City Hall, others felt that Aboriginal affairs should not be focused in one office. They believe that Aboriginal issues should be integrated within all municipal departments and the city manager's office should coordinate and evaluate Aboriginal policy and programs. Also, expanding Aboriginal entities within City Hall challenges pre-existing notions for decision-makers as to what constitutes the "urban Aboriginal community." According to interviewees, it is difficult for City Hall to understand why Aboriginal community cohesion does not exist; some believe that Aboriginal peoples are one homogeneous community.

The varying arrangements for ARACs in City Hall may distort the clarity of this analysis because it may not be clear how each ARAC is involved with the programs and services analyzed. However, all the programs and services broached in the discussion were mentioned by interviewees as pertaining to ARACs.

Prior to establishing the four ARACs, Friendship Centres and other Aboriginal organizations incorporated Aboriginal cultural practices in the various social, health and justice programs and services they provided. Since their creation, all ARACs liaise with organizations that provide programs and services for urban Aboriginal peoples. However they are undertaken differently in each city: the MVAEC, an umbrella council represents Aboriginal peoples in Vancouver; Edmonton's EAUAC is in hiatus; Winnipeg's ACW are organizations independent of City Hall; whereas Toronto's Aboriginal Advisory Committee is led by, and composed of, representatives of local Aboriginal organizations. The interviews did not disclose the specific arrangements that ARAC have with the Urban Aboriginal Strategy partners in each city.

All four cities have Aboriginal awareness programs for City staff for overcoming inaccurate stereotypes Canadians have regarding Aboriginal peoples (TRC 2015: 271) The cities use a variety of approaches to do so: Lunch and Learn programs in Vancouver and Edmonton (under review in 2014); workshops, information sessions and certificate programs in Winnipeg; and teaching modules in Toronto (under revision in 2014).

Repercussions of the residential school system affect the majority of urban Aboriginal peoples (TRC 2015: 183). In Vancouver volunteers and city employees were invited to share their Residential School experiences as part of the Lunch and Learn program, and City staff attended the Theatre for the Living production. The interviews in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Toronto did not specifically address whether Aboriginal Awareness sessions included a Residential School component. While not directly related to ARACs, staff interviewed in Vancouver and Toronto believed that proclamations of the Year of Truth and Reconciliation by their City Councils were important for increasing awareness of the residential school experience not only in City Hall, but city-wide.

Three ARACs are involved in assisting Aboriginal peoples with the recruitment, training and retention of Aboriginal candidates for municipal employment. Edmonton's transit system recruits and hires Aboriginal drivers for buses and LRSs and the ARO works in partnership with: the Alberta and federal governments to develop business training programs; with Oteenow, a First Nations and Inuit agency to provide employment services; and Nikaniw, the program that recruits and trains Aboriginal youth as swim instructors. In Winnipeg the ARD provides assistance with paperwork and elder support for Aboriginal candidates for the Paramedic Recruitment Program. Toronto's AAC works with Miziwe Biik, an Aboriginal employment program to trace the progress of Aboriginal candidates through their city's hiring system.

Two ARACs have actively sought to increase the representation of Aboriginal peoples in municipal decision-making. Toronto is actively involved in recruiting Aboriginal individuals to volunteer to participate in various municipal agencies, boards and commissions. Vancouver has recently appointed two Aboriginal identity volunteers to the Civic Asset Naming Committee and Toronto's Parks, Forestry and Recreation consults with AAC regarding civic naming.

Conclusion: future research

This paper provided information on the mandate, location and roles of municipal advisory committees established to engage Aboriginal representatives and communities. Located in various offices within the machinery of local government as Aboriginal entities or as administrative assistants to consultative committees, this exploratory research shed light on how large Canadian cities with significant Aboriginal populations of varying size and composition are starting to address urban Aboriginal issues.

Directions for future research include investigating the other nine urban centres identified by the UAS as a means to map, monitor and compare Aboriginal municipal representation across Canada. Further research should also consider the role ARACs are undertaking with their Urban Aboriginal Strategy stakeholders. There is also the need for a more complete study of how municipal governments across Canada are engaging in relationships with local First Nations and Aboriginal communities, which might include more detailed interviews and surveys of the larger circle of Aboriginal organizations and representatives and of councillors and staff in city halls.

Notes

(1) The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) defined "Aboriginal" as "Indigenous inhabitants that include the Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples of Canada" (RCAPv4 1996: xiv). While this definition is the official discourse of government, it has been disputed by Indigenous scholars. Andersen argues that the politics of naming has altered the composition of census recording so that Metis fails to distinguish members of historic Metis Nation Ancestry (Andersen 2008). Indigenous scholars also remind us that the term "Aboriginal" is considered colonial (Lawrence 2004: 21). This paper uses Andersen's definition of "urban Aboriginal--as a distinctive and equally legitimate form of Aboriginal identity" (2013: 47) consisting of twelve elements: economic marginalization; growing professional/middle class; racism/social exclusion; legal diversity; status blindness; urban Aboriginal institutions; distinctiveness of urban Aboriginal policy ethos; the character of informal networks; attachment to non-urban communities; struggles over the political representation of urban Aboriginals; and place(s) of Aboriginal women in urban Aboriginal social relations (Andersen 2013: 51-63).

(2) Vancouver, Prince George, Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thompson, Thunder Bay, Toronto, and Ottawa.

(3) The telephone interviews lasted approximately thirty minutes in which notes were taken, but they were not verified by the participants. Participants were asked open-ended questions about their roles in Aboriginal Relations/Advisory Committees. For a copy of the interview questions please email heritzjm@mcmaster.ca.

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Joanne Heritz is Assistant Professor (CLA) in the Department of Political Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. The author would like to thank the Journal's editor and reviewers for their helpful comments.

Table 1. Aboriginal Populations

              Vancouver       Edmonton      Winnipeg       Toronto

CMA           2,313,328       1,159,869     730,018        5,583,064
Population
(2011)

Aboriginal    52,375 (2%)     61,770 (5%)   78,415 (11%)   36,990 (>1%)
Population
(% of CMA
Population)

Growth in     30.5%           18.9%         16.6%          39.8%
Aboriginal
Population
2006-2011

Aboriginal    Coast Salish:   Treat 6       Treaty 1       Mississauga
Identity      Musqueam,       Territory     Territory,     of the New
Groups        Squamish,       (Cree,        Metis          Credit. Over
              T sleil-        Blood                        50 ethnic
              Watututh        and Dene),                   identity
              First Nations   Metis and                    groups
                              Inuit

Table 2. Aboriginal Relations/Advisory Committees (ARACs) in Municipal
Government

                Vancouver        Edmonton

Name            Urban Aborigi-   Aboriginal
                nal Peoples      Relations Unit
                Advisory
                Committee

Created         2011             2007

City Hall       City Manager's   City Manager's
                Office           Office

Staff           1.5              3

Councillors     Yes: non-        Yes: non-Aboriginal
on Committees   Aboriginal

Aboriginal      Lunch and        Lunch and Learn
Awareness       Learn

Residential     Lunch and
Schools         Learn
                Year of Recon-
                ciliation
                2013-2014

Aboriginal                       Transit Program
Employment                       EAERN
                                 Oteenow
                                 Nikaniw

                Winnipeg                Toronto

Name            Aboriginal              Aboriginal Affairs
                Relations               Advisory Committee
                Division

Created         2013                    1999

City Hall       Corporate Support       City Manager's Office
                Services                Ethnicity, Diversity
                                        and Human Rights

Staff           6                       1

Councillors     No                      Yes: non-Aboriginal
on Committees

Aboriginal      Workshops               Teaching Modules
Awareness       Info Sessions

Residential                             Year of Reconciliation
Schools                                 2013-2014

Aboriginal      Paramedic Recruitment   City and Miziwe Biik
Employment      Program