The Timmins Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) has decided which Indigenous relations training to recommend to the City of Timmins and its employees.
Wednesday, committee members approved a motion to recommend the online training offered by the Indigenous Relations Academy to council at its next meeting.
During the committee’s last meeting in December, members agreed to take the training program before deciding whether they want to recommend the training for city employees.
A small group, comprised of Mayor George Pirie, CAO Dave Landers, Coun. Kristin Murray, city clerk Steph Palmateer and several city staff, took the online self-guided training.
At Wednesday's virtual meeting, Palmateer said it is a broad training that doesn't cover the Timmins area but it would be a good start.
“As we go farther down the road, we might be able to change the training to something more suited for Timmins and northeastern Ontario,” he said.
Murray agreed, saying it was a great start. Participants will receive a certificate and will have 30 days to complete the course once they start it.
“One of the comments or feedback we received was one of the individuals didn’t see the connection between the training and where we are. And I guess that’s the disconnect between people not really understanding how history has impacted Indigenous people,” Murray said. “It was eye-opening to know that some people don’t see that connection with the work they do and Indigenous history, how it resulted in today.”
Murray noted the awareness efforts don't have to stop with the training. She mentioned creating a resource list for staff and adding an Indigenous-related section to the city’s newsletters moving forward.
If approved by council, this will be the first cultural awareness training for city employees since the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner's visit to Timmins in 2018.
