RECONCILIATION: MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER - BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
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Suggestions • Integrate the principles and objectives of decolonization and reconciliation, validated with Indigenous Nations, communities, and organizations, in all BC Housing “systems” including strategic planning, partnership agreement negotiations, policy development and implementation, budgeting, program design and evaluation, hiring and staff performance management – at a branch, department and organization-wide level.
BC HOUSING STAFF 6.3.2.1 Nature of BC Housing’s Relationships
Nearly half of the staff interviewed described BC Housing’s relationships with Indigenous Nations, communities, and organizations as positive. They agreed that the overall relationships are strong and built on mutual respect. However, several staff also indicated that the nature of the relationships tends to vary. We heard that the quality of relationships ranges from respectful and productive to strained and problematic. One person explained that this is because BC Housing has not invested enough resources to ensure that the relationships are consistent across the organization: “I would say we have not given space or time to ensure we have representatives or comprehensive relationships across the board. I think there is lots of uncharted territory that could certainly use more mapping to determine how we can work together in that space. – BC Housing Staff Member Nevertheless, a few staff also expressed that BC Housing’s relationships are improving with time. As one respondent stated, “I have observed relationships move towards those based on respect, reconciliation, and collaboration in the last 5-6 years. – BC Housing Staff Member
Why This Is Important There may be alignment in perspective between some Indigenous communities and
organizations and staff. However, overall, the
comments from staff indicating positive relationships and those from Indigenous Nations, communities, and organizations means that there is a difference in perspective regarding what makes a positive relationship and what reconciliation means. One example is that an Indigenous community may feel that the relationship is purely transactional and focused on the business of building housing units and the staff may believe that they are sharing information and communicating well from the perspective of completing a project. These comments also speak to the need for continued and mandatory training for staff on reconciliation.
With respect to building and enhancing relationships, staff shared that BC Housing demonstrates a strong level of commitment to collaboration, learning and improvement. Many respondents mentioned that BC Housing works closely with Indigenous
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