The Reconciliation Action Partnership is a collaborative group of municipal representatives working to coordinate efforts to support Indigenous-centred initiatives across Waterloo Region. Municipalities have the opportunity and responsibility to contribute to reconciliation with Indigenous communities, as this work connects land, people and governance. There are six RAP sub-committees working to achieve coordinated direction, based on the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and on the Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Sub-committees include:

• Access to Spaces
• Communications
• Governance
• Honoraria and Reciprocity
• Learning and Development
• Relationship Building and Community Engagement

This work is intended to improve and enhance service delivery to Indigenous Peoples in Waterloo Region, develop respectful relationships with Indigenous communities to meaningfully support Indigenous-led work and build a more inclusive community and municipal workplace.

To find out more about reconciliation and Indigenous-focused work at the municipal level, click on one of the municipal logos below.

This subcommittee helps RAP build and strengthen respectful relationships with Indigenous communities across Waterloo Region. We create opportunities for Indigenous voices, knowledge, perspectives, and priorities to help inform RAP's work and reconciliation efforts. Working together across member municipalities, we focus on relationship-building, community engagement, partnerships, and shared learning opportunities. We work to create space for Indigenous community members, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, organizations, and Treaty Partners to share their guidance and perspectives with RAP. Through this work, we aim to build trust, strengthen collaboration, and support meaningful action toward reconciliation.

Facilitator: Sue Weare (Kitchener)

Members:

• Deb Bergey (Region of Waterloo)
• Emma Goulding (Waterloo)
• Justine Kennedy (Kitchener)
• Maritza Yawching-Robertson (Region of Waterloo - Public Health)
• Zohra Wali (Cambridge)

This subcommittee develops and maintains RAP's web presence and identifies communication opportunities. In collaboration with area municipalities' communications teams RAP initiatives are shared out on social media platforms and municipal websites.

Facilitator: Anastasia Lyons (RAP Firekeeper)

Members:

• Amy Harron (Wellesley)
• Jenna Mayne (Region of Waterloo)
• Neisa Long (Kitchener)
• Rae Ann Bauman (Woolwich)

The Reconciliation Action Partnership (RAP) is committed to providing honoraria to community members who provide their time, knowledge or lived experience as part of RAP’s work. We recognize that an honorarium is more than a financial transaction, it is an expression of appreciation and reciprocity.

The Honoraria and Reciprocity subcommittee has developed processes for RAP that:

• Ensure community members receive honoraria payments in as streamlined a manner as possible,
• Provide guidance on determining appropriate honoraria amounts,
• Balance municipal government requirements for financial accountability with RAP’s commitment to respectful community engagement,
• Can be adopted or adapted by partner municipalities.

RAP uses the City of Waterloo’s Honoraria and Compensation Policy as a guiding framework. The Honoraria and Reciprocity subcommittee’s work provided a strong foundation for this policy.

Resources created by the honoraria and reciprocity subcommittee are considered living documents and the subcommittee continues to evaluate them and ensure they align with best practices. We hope to stay aligned in honorarium delivery across all eight municipalities. As partner municipalities develop or make changes to existing policies, the work of RAP can serve as a guide.

{Formerly Honorarium and Compensation Practices}

Facilitator: Pamela Albrecht (Waterloo)

Members:

• Heather Baxter (Region of Waterloo)
• Justine Kennedy (Kitchener)
• Rae Ann Bauman (Woolwich)
• Symone Prince (Kitchener)
• Zohra Wali (Cambridge)

The Learning & Development Sub-Committee makes recommendations on the delivery and implementation of Indigenous learning programs for municipal employees and Council members across Waterloo Region. These recommendations are informed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, the Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the rights affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Recommendations also reflect the needs and priorities of local Indigenous communities, municipal employees, and Councils. At this time, the Sub-Committee’s work is internally focused, with an emphasis on strengthening knowledge, awareness, relationships, and accountability within municipal workplaces and governance structures.

The Sub-Committee is currently developing Indigenous learning opportunities for new Council members and coordinates monthly Brave Conversations sessions for staff across the Region. These sessions invite Indigenous community members to share knowledge, lived experiences, and teachings on a range of topics. Previous sessions have addressed land acknowledgements, Two-Spirit identities and histories, Grandmother Moon teachings, and other topics relevant to Reconciliation, Indigenous cultural awareness, and respectful service delivery.

Learning topics are informed by an annual staff survey and by Indigenous staff members’ lived experience and observations of recurring knowledge gaps within the organization.

Facilitator: Stella Appau (Region of Waterloo)

Members:

• Brian Hill (Waterloo)
• Paula Whitlow (Region of Waterloo)
• Stacey-Anne Bryenton (Region of Waterloo)
• Tara Eykens (Kitchener)

The governance subcommittee is responsible for administrative pieces of RAP such as a terms of reference and code of conduct for members as well as identifying ways RAP can share our strategic plan and implementation plan with staff and councils for deeper integration into our systems.

Facilitator: Anastasia Lyons (RAP Firekeeper)

Members:

• Brian Hill (Waterloo)
• Michelle Poissant (North Dumfries)
• Rumina Morris (Kitchener)
• Umi Mohammed (Region of Waterloo)

In collaboration with the Region's Safe and Inclusive Spaces Table, this subcommittee gathers data on current spaces and will make this data accessible through a GIS collaboration, identifies future space needs and determines how RAP can support implementation

{Formerly Placekeeping and Land (use of space)}

Facilitator: Region of Waterloo Safe and Inclusive Spaces Table Staff

Members:

• Neisa Long (Kitchener)