RECONCILIATION: MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER - BACKGROUND
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representation of Indigenous peoples within the homeless population and in housing that is not adequate or affordable.” 38 Corporate business plans outline BC Housing’s commitment to enhancing Indigenous partnerships and include more detailed and specific reconciliation goals and objectives for all the organization’s corporate branches. In the past two years, reconciliation goals and objectives have included statements such as: • Issuing a proposal call to target low income Indigenous seniors and families; • Mentoring AHMA's Operations staff (assigning one BC Housing staff per region as the point person); • Expanding the SkillsPlus program to two or three new communities in BC and the Yukon; and, • Developing an asset management plan and initiate capacity building with 5 on-reserve First Nations groups. 39 Analysis of the 2018/2019 and the 2019/2020 Corporate Business Plans reveals that progress may be slow in achieving goals and objectives relating to education, training, and policy implementation. Although quarterly reports on the Corporate Business Plans shows advancement in these areas, the following goals and objectives are ongoing and have remained on BC Housing’s agenda since 2018: • Providing staff with opportunities to gain a stronger understanding of the cultural aspects related to Indigenous partnerships. Include new learning offerings on UNDRIP and the TRC Calls to Action; • Expanding Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) programming, including new training offerings and ongoing development of an employee resource group. Update D&I Framework and Implementation plan. • Developing an Indigenous engagement strategy for the 2020 Homeless Count; • Making training opportunities available to the Indigenous Housing Sector; • Continuing to build partnerships and strengthen the position of the DTES Learning Center as a community resource for learning and development. To better understand where the above reconciliation goals and objectives fit within the work of developing a Reconciliation Strategy, TWC recommends that BC Housing revisit the 2018/2019 and the 2019/2020 Corporate Business Plans. The organization should assess the advancements made, update the goals and objectives relating to enhancing Indigenous relationships, and continue implementing specific actions. In 2017, the Board adopted an Indigenous Partnerships Strategy Framework that outlined specific approaches for creating more housing options for Indigenous peoples, improving the 38 Ibid. 39 This objective has led to the signing of three Asset Management MOUs that are building capacity in three different regions among nine First Nations (see Section 3.1.2.4 Building Capacity).
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