Yellowknife City Council held their governance and priorities committee meeting today instead of the usual Monday meeting in light of the holiday.
The major item for discussion was the decision to approve the 2023 Reconciliation Action Plan.
The current council says they have made Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples one of its core values for the 2019-2022 office.
As part of the City’s efforts to recognize Truth and Reconciliation the plan will provide concrete actions for the City to observe and will be updated regularly as plans shift in the future.
The action plan follows shortly after the GNWT’s decision to introduce the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The plan includes four recommendations for council to move forward with to observe the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.
The Mayor plans to correspond with the GNWT to ensure any laws that rely on the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius be denied.
The City says they will continue to assess and implement actions within mandates identified through community engagement.
Potential future actions taken on by the City include several Memorandum of Understanding readings, annual gatherings to discuss reconciliation and community engagement sessions in the future.
