The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is back in town this week.
OHRC Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane made her first visit to Timmins in March. She is back in town this week for a three-day visit to meet with local leaders and hold training sessions.
Today, Mandhane is meeting with civic and Indigenous leaders to talk about how to advance reconciliation and better protect the rights of Indigenous people living in or accessing services in Timmins.
Taking it Local: An Update on Human Rights is being held tomorrow by the OHRC in partnership with the city. The free event will discuss a variety of human rights topics and feature speakers from the OHRC, City of Timmins and community leaders.
On their final day in town June 20, the OHRC is hosting education sessions about accommodating Indigenous spiritual practices.
This week, Timmins council is also talking about the terms of reference for the Indigenous Advisory Committee, which started taking shape after the OHRC's visit in the winter.
A four-day Indigenous celebration is also kicking off today at Participark. The grounds are open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and there will be Indigenous teachings, games, information booths and more.
For National Indigenous Peoples Day June 21, the festivities kick off at 5:30 a.m. with a sunrise ceremony at Participark.
At 11 a.m., three Indigenous flags will be raised for the first time at city hall where they will be featured permanently afterwards. The three flags are the Mattagami First Nation, which is the traditional territory of the city, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which is the greater treaty land, and the Metis Nation of Ontario.T
Following the flag raising there is a unity walk to Participark where the opening remarks are at noon.
Find out more about the Indigenous celebration here.
