{"id":17629,"date":"2017-06-21T17:11:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=17629"},"modified":"2017-06-21T17:11:14","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:11:14","slug":"twinning-with-indigenous-community-explored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/twinning-with-indigenous-community-explored\/","title":{"rendered":"Twinning with Indigenous community explored"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aurora has been \u201ctwinned\u201d with the Swedish community of Leksand for decades and now that Canada\u2019s 150th anniversary is approaching, the Town is exploring opportunities to twin with First Nations.
\nThe move comes following a motion from Councillor John Abel last week.
\nIn his proposal, which called on staff to explore the possibilities, he said twinning with an Indigenous community could be a \u201cmunicipal legacy\u201d of the Canada 150 program.
\n\u201cAurora recognizes that the contributions and experiences of indigenous peoples are part of our country\u2019s shared history,\u201d said Councillor Abel in his motion. \u201cAurora supports the work of all levels of government in advancing reconciliation and renewing a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples based on mutual understanding and respect.\u201d
\nIn addition, the June 3 powwow hosted by First Nations at Lambert Willson Park, he said, is an indication the community \u201cwishes to make a commitment to ongoing conversation and partnership with Canada\u2019s Indigenous peoples.\u201d
\nCouncillor Abel said he was inspired to bring the motion forward after hearing a talk about Reconciliation from Chief Dr. Robert Joseph. The Councillor says Joseph spoke about the meaning of reconciliation and how it is to build \u201cmeaningful relationships among indigenous people and all Canadians.\u201d
\n\u201cTwinning is something that came about at the end of World War Two,\u201d said Councillor Abel. \u201cThe British and the Allies twinning with German cities that had been bombed and were basically destitute. The idea of working together to rebuild and building a relationship is how twinning started. It then moved in to more of a relationship over the years. Aurora has twinned with Leksand in 1976 and my point is it is a way of building relationships and it is something that lasts a long time.\u201d
\nAs Canadians, he said, \u201cour future and wellbeing of all our children rests in the relationships we build today.\u201d
\n\u201cTo live in a reconciled world is a life long journey, generation to generation, that we meet each other and we have to find one another,\u201d he continued. \u201cI notice we often speak and thank the Indigenous Nation that occupied this land in Canada. My idea is to begin that with municipalities taking the lead and if each municipality were to twin with an Indigenous nation we could build an understanding. It is not about us giving resources, money and funding and anything along those lines, it is only about learning about each other and it can build into other things.\u201d
\nHaving already floated his idea with Indigenous leaders, Councillor Abel said it was warmly received.
\nThe idea was also warmly received \u2013 generally \u2013 around the Council table with members supporting the idea but wanting to know just what twinning would entail from a resources and exchange perspective.
\n\u201cMy only comment is there are a number of municipalities out there that have a criteria and policy with respect to twinning or sister cities and I think that would help us as we go through this process,\u201d said Councillor Michael Thompson, asking for a report on best practices. \u201cWe have a fantastic library. Maybe there are some services within Town that we can share with them. Not all Northern Communities have the same access to services that we do and maybe there are some ways we can share what we have with them and I am fine with that as well.\u201d
\nCouncillor Paul Pirri also requested further information, particularly on what the end goals of twinning would ultimately mean.
\n\u201cI just think there has to be a reason that we\u2019re doing it beyond just learning. Everything we do should have goals identified, should be able to track metrics, maybe not In the most strict fashion, but so we all have a clear understanding of what we\u2019re getting to and how we can help and learn.
\n\u201cI think if we\u2019re reaching out as a municipality to other Aboriginal Councils I think it is important that we involve the groups who were here in Aurora first. It would make sense that if we were to begin twinning with any other First Nations it would be wise to either get the blessing or a greater understanding from the First Nation groups that inhabited our lands.\u201d
\nThe motion was also supported by Councillor Wendy Gaertner, but her support only went so far. While the principle was sound, she said, one component of the proposal made her uncomfortable.
\n\u201cI am certainly not opposed to twinning with a First Nations, but the Canada 150 Municipal Legacy\u2026 I haven\u2019t heard a lot of comments in the media from Indigenous groups that I don\u2019t know if the word is insulted, but they have been around for a long time,\u201d she said. \u201c150 certainly doesn\u2019t mark any kind of a celebration for them. Twinning is fine. As a 150th municipal legacy, I am really not in favour of that part.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora has been \u201ctwinned\u201d with the Swedish community of Leksand for decades and now that Canada\u2019s 150th anniversary is approaching, the Town is exploring opportunities to twin with First Nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-4Al","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-10 12:19:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}