1534 Community Events Regional options being explored for Indigenous education & programming Council is exploring a new cost-effective approach to expand the Town’s successful Indigenous Engagement program and share it with partners across the Edmonton region. Council was presented with four options to continue the program. These included: Option A: Maintain current service level ($111,850 forecasted annual cost) Option B: Explore an internship ($67,500 forecasted annual cost) Option C: Explore a regional partnership ($50,000 forecasted annual cost) Option D: Eliminate Position After a thorough discussion, Council advised Administration to pursue Option C – exploring opportunities for a regional partnership and engage neighbouring municipalities, school boards and the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board to determine the feasibility of a shared Indigenous Engagement position. This shared position would benefit all partnering organizations as it provides an opportunity to learn from Devon’s successes while bringing new experiences and perspectives to the region’s current Indigenous engagement initiatives. While there will be a reduction in Indigenous programming offered by the Town this year, it remains committed to running the 4 major Indigenous engagement events for 2023. These events include: MMIWG2S+ Day – May 5, 2023 Indigenous Peoples Day (Summer Solstice) – June 21, 2023 Treaty Six Day – Aug. 23, 2023 Orange Shirt Day (National Day of Truth & Reconciliation) – Sept. 30, 2023 “This was a very difficult conversation for all of Council as we continue to explore balancing services with a need for fiscal restraint as per the 3-Year Fiscal Recovery & Stabilization Plan,” said Mayor Craddock. “Building an inclusive community remains important to us all and we are pleased to see the majority of the events planned in our original budget will still be proceeding this year.” To date, the Town has had conversations regarding this regional partnership with numerous municipalities across the Edmonton region and looks forward to continued conversations to determine if this is a fit for Devon or if other options needs to be explored. Share Print