RECONCILIATION: MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER - BACKGROUND
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housing conditions on-reserve, promoting Indigenous employment and training opportunities, building a stronger Indigenous housing sector, and improving BC Housing staff’s cultural understandings. 40 Within their Diversity and Inclusion Framework , BC Housing provides an Aboriginal Recruitment & Retention Strategy with “one of their major focuses going forward” being that recruiting for all positions be intentional about including Indigenous people. 41 EXTERNAL OPERATIONS Principles of reconciliation are also reflected in BC Housing’s external operations, which include building relationships and partnerships with Indigenous Nations, communities, and organizations, offering support to Indigenous communities through various funding opportunities, respecting consultation and community engagement requirements, and building the capacity of Indigenous groups through knowledge exchange and collaboration. 3.1.2.1 Partnerships with Indigenous Nations, Communities, and Organizations
55 Indigenous 42 BC First Nations 16 Indigenous Organizations
BC Housing has an intention to build strong relationships with Indigenous peoples in BC and has a goal to enhance its Indigenous partnerships. As of November 2019, the organization has established relationships with over 100 Indigenous housing providers, BC First Nations, and Indigenous organizations (Figure 5). As shown in Figure 4, the organization has also been awarded gold-level in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program twice - in 2015 and in 2018. PAR is a certification program administered by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business that measures an organization’s performance in Indigenous relations.
Housing Providers
Figure 5: Established Relationships
In 1995, BC Housing supported the creation of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA). It was the first Indigenous Housing Authority in Canada and is made up of 41 Indigenous housing providers representing Indigenous families and individuals across British Columbia. 42 BC Housing transferred all administration and management responsibilities for provincially funded Indigenous housing stock to AHMA. As a partner, BC Housing provides advice, support, and resources to the organization as needed and when requested. BC Housing provides approximately $34 million annually to support AHMA’s operational responsibilities. 43 Today, AHMA is responsible for more than 4,600 subsidized Indigenous
40 Ibid. 41 Ibid. 42 AHMA 2020. 43 BC Housing PAR Submission 2018
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