Item - 2021.AA13.2

The Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee recommends to the Executive Committee that:

1.  City Council amend the Terms of Reference of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee to provide that the public members are to be members of Aboriginal organizations and the community at large, so that Section B.1. and 2. of the Terms of Reference read as follows:

B. Composition and Term

1. The Advisory Committee is composed of 25 members with one Member of City Council. With the exception of the Member of City Council, Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee members are representatives of Aboriginal organizations and of the community at large.

2. Members are appointed by City Council on recommendation of the Civic Appointments Committee for public members and Striking Committee for the Member of City Council.

2.  City Council request the Director, Indigenous Affairs Office, in consultation with the Co-Chairs of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, to recruit members in order to fill all existing vacancies on the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee as soon as practicable.

3.  City Council request the Director, Indigenous Affairs Office, to invite the registered presenters on Item AA13.2 to apply for positions on the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, in a process open to the community at large; and to alert all members of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee once the recruitment process is open for public applications to help ensure Indigenous communities member representatives are aware of this opportunity and deadlines for application.

4.  City Council request the City Clerk, in consultation with the Indigenous Affairs Office and the City Manager's Office, to report to the first meeting in 2022 of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee on options for a revised public appointments process for the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee for the 2022-2026 Council Term.

The Co-Chairs, Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, will lead a discussion on approaches for filling vacancies on the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee. This is a follow-up of the discussion that took place at the previous meeting in April 2021 on Item AA10.2.

This report provides an overview of the discussions of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee at its previous meetings on filling vacancies of Committee membership and recommends a path toward filling the existing vacancies.