Create an Indigenous community hub at Charles Street Terminal

With the COVID-19 testing facility now closed, the Region of Waterloo is facilitating public consultations to decide the future of the Charles Street Terminal.

Members of O:se Kenhionhata:tie Land Back Camp, together with Textile Literature, students from the School of Architecture and artists in the community, have gathered reflections from the community on the theme of "Recollections and Imaginings": to think forward to the futures of this place, grounded in repairing relationships across the past and present.

In that spirit, we call on the Region of Waterloo to support the creation of an Indigenous community hub in the heart of Kitchener.

To: (20 recipients)

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As championed in June 2021 by O:se Kenhionhata:tie Land Back Camp, ReAllocate WR, and with support from a number of Indigenous organizations, the former Charles Street Bus Terminal offers an opportunity to transform existing space into an Indigenous Community Hub that can provide access to the services needed by the over 16,000 Indigenous People that call Waterloo Region home.

10,000 of those who identify as Indigenous in Waterloo Region live in Kitchener. An Indigenous Community Hub located in downtown Kitchener would serve the majority of the local Indigenous population and be accessible to the larger Indigenous community in the region. Moreover, this space being centrally located would serve as an active reminder to settlers that this is Indigenous land and advance Reconciliation efforts in our community.

Over 3400 people in the community have signed a Change.org petition in support of this initiative.

The Indigenous Community Hub would provide Gathering Space, Housing, Government Services, Health Clinic, Gardens, Entrepreneurial space, Daycare and Cafeteria, Artisan Market etc. It would be a space designed and serviced by the Indigenous community for the Indigenous community.

Therefore, we reiterate the calls from June 2021 and ask for the following actions to be taken:

1. We call on the Region of Waterloo to support and lead alongside the Indigenous community in advocating for an Indigenous community hub in the heart of Kitchener.

2. We call on the Region of Waterloo to publicly share how much of the $15 million designated for BIPOC initiatives is earmarked for the Indigenous community.

3. We call on the Region of Waterloo to use that earmarked funding for the Indigenous community in the creation of an Indigenous community hub.

4. We call on the Region of Waterloo to support Indigenous leaders and organizations as they design and craft a plan for the space;

5. We call on the Region of Waterloo to explicitly keep any police-led organizations, including Wellbeing Waterloo Region, from leading these engagements;

6. We call on Waterloo Regional Council to reallocate and prioritize in the 2023 Budget the funding of:

- Indigenous-led Community Care Services

- Indigenous-led Inclusive and Accessible Housing and Supportive Housing

- The creation and sustainability of Indigenous Community Hub

Sincerely,

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