Shared Path is back!
Written by Admin, Admin •
To Shared Path membership, partners, and friends,
Like the flowers unfurling from the mud or the bear awakening in its den, Shared Path is emerging from a period of hibernation to continue encouraging relationship building between Indigenous communities and their neighbouring municipalities.
Most of our operations were paused in November due to organizational changes. Subsequently, and after some consideration, Shared Path’s board decided to accept a grant from the federal Ministry of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion, one that we had applied for back in 2021.
This grant was awarded under the Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program, to deliver a series of workshops bringing First Nations and Métis peoples together with their neighbouring municipalities. The goals of this workshop series are twofold – to better understand each other’s histories, and to develop a collaborative project that serves to fulfill a common goal in the name of relationship development. Be on the lookout for more information on this project in the near future!
While on hiatus, Shared Path’s board of directors and wonderful former executive director Morgan Peters worked to fulfill outstanding contracts.
First, Chair Carolyn King and Director David Stinson assisted the City of Richmond Hill with the development of a new Land Acknowledgement. This iterative process required engagement with local Indigenous rights-holders and stakeholders, whose feedback informed the final product. City council passed the Land Acknowledgment on March 29, 2023. To learn more about the process, review Shared Path’s report.
Additionally, on March 3rd Shared Path carried out the second of three workshops in the Indigenous Relations in Real Estate Development series, co-hosted with ULI Toronto, Shared Path, Michael Emory, Allied and Ian Gillespie, and Westbank. After learning about the history of colonialism and land use in the first session, roughly 50 attendees discussed methods those operating in the real estate industry could take to improve Indigenous engagement and collaboration.
Spring is not only a time of revival, but also to acknowledge the efforts it takes to get through a frigid winter. As Shared Path continues to move forward, we also want to celebrate the work we have accomplished and thank the many partners and members who have supported us along the way.
