Townhall tackles Urban Aboriginal Strategy September 13, 2012 Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn Email Glenn Wheeler, Vice-President (Policy) – About 50 people joined the circle as the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission hosted a town hall on urban Aboriginal issues. Often an after-thought when it comes to policy making, urban issues are becoming ever more crucial with more and more Aboriginal people leaving their home communities and moving to larger centres. Among First Nations people, for example, more people live off-reserve than on. The APC session took an urban lens to the policy questions facing Canada – the role of cultural promotion in breaking down barriers, the need for transition services for those moving to cities, divisions between Aboriginal people ourselves and the importance of building community (psychologically and physically). The participants included those who are Liberals and some who are not. Also in attendance were union activists, academics, and people from agencies serving Aboriginal communities. The three-hour session took place on the University of Toronto campus on June 9. Using Open Space technology, participants identified the issues they wanted to discuss and led the discussion of those items in small groups. Among the issues identified were Aboriginal nationhood in an urban context, how to make indigenous knowledge available to urban Aborginals, how to deal with internal differences between urban Aboriginals, the need to enlist labour unions as well as business to increase career success, and methods for promoting success stories of urban Aboriginals. The session was organized by Glenn Wheeler, VP Policy and Steven Vanloffeld of the APC (Ontario). Aboriginal affairs critic Carolyn Bennett, APC male co-chair Chad Cowie and VP Women Naomi Sayers also attended and contributed. It was an amazing session,” Wheeler says, “full of passionate discussion and practical ideas. It confirms for the APC that there is crucial work to be done in the area of urban Aboriginal policy.” – 30 – For more information on the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission, contact: Kevin Seesequasis Vice-President (Communications) Contact Us