Combining Knowledge: Exploring Knowledge of Indigenous Needs and Planning Practices among Practicing Planners

Abstract

With the recent publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Report, the 150th celebration of Canada's confederation, and the Duty to Consult obligation for the Crown in Canada, increased focus on Indigenous peoples, engagement, and reconciliation has emerged within Canada. Along with these changes, planning practice is trying to keep pace through policy changes and increased expectations on planners in practice. As caretakers and protectors of land, planners are expected to know when and how to engage appropriately with Indigenous populations in relation to land use. How planners gain this knowledge and approach these processes is still relatively unknown. This research explores the perceptions and understandings of planning with Indigenous peoples among municipal planners in Southern Ontario.This study was guided by the following research objectives: i) assess the level of knowledge current practicing planners had in Southern Ontario on Indigenous issues, ii) pilot a potential form of an educational resource to expand current knowledge, iii) monitor said educational resource’s effectiveness, and iv) analyze two sources of potential knowledge formation. Interviews, an educational intervention, and textual discourse analysis were used as data collection techniques to explore these topics through a mixed methods case study approach. This research provides a discussion on the current status and nature of municipal planners’ indigenous knowledge, while also providing recommendations for further work in the area. As efforts to improve relationships and move towards reconciliation continue to become bigger priorities in Canada, the planning profession has to continually look at the ways it approaches consultation and engagement with Indigenous communities.