Our Commitment
Credit Valley Conservation is committed to inclusive practices, engaging and partnering with Indigenous Nations, communities and people to advance Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation though our work.
Land Acknowledgement
The purpose of the land acknowledgement is to respectfully and meaningfully acknowledge all Indigenous Peoples and their close connection to the land and water of ancestral inhabitation.
We acknowledge that the land on which we gather, and the entire Credit River Watershed, is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The Credit River Watershed is also part of the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee, and home to many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples today.
Treaties made with Indigenous Peoples are enduring and include responsibilities for both parties. We affirm that this land and water is our common source of life and we must all share responsibility for its care and stewardship for now and future generations.
Indigenous Engagement Guidelines
CVC’s Board of Directors, on Friday March 12, 2021 approved new engagement guidelines to support continued and meaningful engagement with Indigenous nations, communities and people across a variety of CVC projects and programs.
The guidelines were crafted in partnership with members of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations’ (MCFN) Department of Accommodation and Consultation (DOCA) whose treaty lands and territory includes the Credit River Watershed.
CVC’s engagement guidelines will be a living document, updated periodically to reflect current and future input from Indigenous nations, communities and people connected to the Credit River and surrounding watershed.
Our ongoing commitment to engagement, partnership, and work with Indigenous nations and communities is guided by:
- Our shared responsibility for the stewardship of the lands, waters, and resources of the Credit River Watershed for present and future generations.
- Our core value of inclusiveness, and our desire to engage Indigenous nations, communities, and people consistently, genuinely, and respectfully.
- Our commitment to ensuring that CVC activities and programs related to Indigenous Knowledge and communities past and present are done accurately, appropriately, and in collaboration.
- Our support for advancing United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
- Our responsibility to meet Crown-delegated procedural elements of its Duty to Consult and accommodate through acts of legislation affecting CVC projects.
The guidelines reflect the various opportunities for Indigenous engagement, including:
- Planning for conservation areas as directed in our Conservation Areas Master Strategy, including programming and placemaking at Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area
- Supporting planning and implementation of the Credit Valley Trail project, including educational programming and Indigenous placemaking along the trail through the Indigenous Experience Implementation Plan led by the Indigenous Roundtable
- Integrating Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into CVC education programming
- Attending Indigenous events and other Indigenous-led activities
- Integrating Indigenous knowledge into CVC’s monitoring, restoration and management studies and plans
- Attending or integrating Indigenous ceremony into CVC activities when appropriate
- Supporting CVC staff education, training, and internal communications on Indigenous topics
- Identifying opportunities where CVC may choose to voluntarily go above and beyond the basic duty to consult under various acts of legislation, such as the Environmental Assessment Act
The Credit Valley Trail (CVT)
The Credit Valley Trail will be a 100 km pathway through the Credit River Valley – from the headwaters in Orangeville to Lake Ontario in Mississauga – connecting people to nature, cultural experiences, Indigenous heritage and the sustaining waters of the Credit River.