Parksville will apply for $40,000 in funding to support relationship building with Indigenous governments and incorporate Indigenous knowledge and cultural safety into its emergency management program.
Council voted unanimously at its March 18 meeting to authorize staff to apply for the grant from the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA) Indigenous Engagement Program.
The City of Parksville and the Town of Qualicum Beach both received an offer to access one time grants of $40,000, according to a report by Keeva Kehler, chief administrative officer.
The funding is for activities that support relationship building and collaboration in emergency management between municipalities and Indigenous governments that may lead to the development of risk assessment plans, emergency response plans, reconciliation and capacity building and formal agreements on all phases of emergency management, according to Kehler’s report.
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Both the city and town staff have “extremely limited” capacity, the report said, and the requirement was not confirmed when local governments were working on annual budgeting and work planning.
Initial discussions between the city, town and the Regional District of Nanaimo suggested pooling the funding into a regional engagement process is preferable.
The Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose) and Qualicum First Nations will each receive $45,000 associated with a signed agreement, and the RDN has also been offered $40,000 to support the engagement, according to the report.
— NEWS Staff