Reconciliation

• Report highlights progress on climate change actions, ED&I, and Reconciliation
  TORONTO, July 13, 2023 /CNW/ - Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has released its annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report , updating performance in these key focus areas over the past year.
• The report also demonstrates how OPG incorporates ESG principles into its corporate strategy, business model, risk management framework, and performance targets, to deliver value to the Province and the communities OPG serves.
• "As we work to electrify life in one generation, we will continue to prioritize sustainability, safety, diversity, and Reconciliation," said OPG Board Chair, Wendy Kei.
• "And we will keep striving to be a socially responsible and beneficial neighbour for communities and Indigenous partners across the province."

• This week at Parliament House during Barunga Festival, four NT Land Council representatives presented Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Barunga Declaration.
• Signed by the four NT Land Council representatives, the declaration calls on Australians to vote “yes” in the upcoming referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
• NT Land Council representatives Dr Samuel Bush-Blanasi (Northern Land Council), Matthew Palmer (Central Land Council), Gibson Farmer Illortaminni (Tiwi Land Council) and Thomas Amagula (Anindilyakwa Land Council) brought the Barunga Declaration to Parliament House.

Treaty ’88 and the Barunga Statement

• The Barunga Statement was the outcome of years of careful deliberation and discussion.
• It was delivered from “the Indigenous owners and occupiers of Australia”, requesting the Australian government legislate for national land rights and begin treaty negotiations.
• It also called for laws for a national elected Aboriginal body, and recognition of customary law by police and justice systems.
• The Barunga Statement was presented during a time where there were increasing calls for a treaty.
• The Treaty ’88 campaign declared that Australia was invaded by a foreign power with no treaty.

‘Treaty by 1990’

• However, others have highlighted the reconciliation movement’s departure from treaty.
• Playwright Wesley Enoch and actress Deborah Mailman’s play 7 Stages of Grieving includes a poem emphasising instead the “wreck”, “con” and “silly” in reconciliation.
• This would symbolise the burial of hopes for a treaty, saying
  Sovereignty became treaty, treaty became reconciliation and reconciliation turned into nothing.

To properly consider the Voice, we need to look to how we got here

• However, the Voice aims to address a key problem that recreates disadvantage: First Nations’ political power.
• First Nations peoples have long sought representation to seek particular rights to land, culture and heritage, language, self-determination and self-governance.
• The referendum for a Voice is the first of a three-part sequence of reforms, outlined in the 2017 Uluru Statement, followed by treaty and truth-telling.

• OTTAWA, ON, June 20, 2023 /CNW/ - On the eve of the Summer Solstice, a day of great significance for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint is honouring their rich and diverse cultural heritages with a $2 commemorative circulation coin celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day.
• For the first time on a Canadian circulation coin, three different artists have collaborated on a single reverse design.
• "Since 1996, National Indigenous Peoples Day has been an opportunity to celebrate First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people," said The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
• "National Indigenous Peoples Day is an opportunity to both celebrate and honour the diverse cultures of Métis, Inuit and First Nations.

• "While our commitment to Indigenous customers and communities is part of how we do business every day, each year we welcome the opportunity to mark National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day in meaningful ways through our support of key initiatives and by continuing to innovate to serve Indigenous colleagues, customers and communities."
• BMO's gift will support the Home for Reconciliation capital expansion initiative, ensuring thousands more can access programs and supports in 2024.
• For more than three decades, BMO has been working with Indigenous communities to support their economic self-determination.
• For more information about how BMO works with Indigenous communities in Canada, click here to view BMO's annual Indigenous Partnerships and Progress Report.