Truth and Reconciliation
Emerge is committed to uplifting Indigenous voices, respecting traditional lands, and working with communities towards reconciliation.
We are all treaty people.
Emerge Reconciliation Strategy
Goal #1 – Provide the committee charged with coordinating activities and reporting on progress made toward achieving our 2026 Reconciliation Plan with the time and resources to ensure our goals are accomplished.
- Committee holds quarterly meetings to plan and coordinate activities in support of our 2026 Reconciliation Plan.
- Report progress made on fourth year Reconciliation goals as a partner of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord on our dedicated Truth & Reconciliation page.
- Participate for fifth year as partner to the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord to publicly communicate our 2026 Reconciliation Plan.
- Continue demonstrating our commitment to reconciliation in our marketing material and provide updates about progress made toward achieving our 2026 Reconciliation goals.
Goal #2 – Achieve team understanding about intermediate reconciliation concepts through education and conversation.
- Assign annual required reading/viewing to all team members, to continuously increase our awareness and understanding of reconciliation concepts.
- Team members will participate in an educational group event/workshop (in person and/or online) organized by the company.
Goal #1 – Provide the committee charged with coordinating activities and reporting on progress made toward achieving our 2025 Reconciliation Plan.
- Quarterly Reconciliation meetings are scheduled and regularly attended by all committee members. Completed
- Report submitted to the City of Winnipeg to share progress toward achieving 3rd-year goals as a partner of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord. Completed
- Submit our 4th-year Reconciliation Plan as part of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord. Completed
- Use our dedicated Truth & Reconciliation page to communicate results and share annual progress toward 2025 Reconciliation goals. Completed
Goal #2 – Achieve team understanding about intermediate reconciliation concepts through education and conversation.
- In 2025, team members will read or watch assigned educational materials and confirm completion using the internal activity tracking sheet. Completed
- Team members will participate in an educational workshop organized by the company. Completed
- Continue internal discussions that encourage reflection and learning around reconciliation. Completed
Learning & Growth
As part of our company’s ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, employees were asked to view “Indigenous Fire Stewardship in Canada” (opens in a new tab) by Amy Cardinal Christianson. This presentation examines traditional Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices related to cultural burning—techniques that have long supported ecosystem health and reduced the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
This learning activity was especially relevant in 2025, which became one of the most severe wildfire seasons in Canadian history, with over 6,000 wildfires and more than 8.3 million hectares burned nationwide. The impacts were profound: over 85,000 people were evacuated, including more than 45,000 people from 73 First Nations communities, highlighting how Indigenous peoples were disproportionately affected.
By engaging with this material, our goal was to deepen our understanding of how the suppression of Indigenous fire stewardship practices contributed to today’s fire risk and to recognize the leadership Indigenous communities bring to land and fire management. The video helps employees appreciate both the wisdom of these long-standing practices and the disproportionate burdens Indigenous communities continue to face during wildfire events.
Goal #1 - Provide the committee charged with coordinating activities and reporting on progress made toward achieving our 2025 Reconciliation Plan with the time and resources to ensure our goals are accomplished.
- Quarterly Reconciliation meetings are scheduled and regularly attended by all committee members. Completed
- Report submitted to the City of Winnipeg to share progress toward achieving 3rd-year goals as a partner of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord. Completed
- Submit our 4th-year Reconciliation Plan as part of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord. Completed
- Use our dedicated Truth & Reconciliation page to communicate results and share annual progress toward 2025 Reconciliation goals. Completed
Goal #2 - Achieve team understanding about intermediate reconciliation concepts through education and conversation.
- In 2025, all team members have read or watched the educational content as assigned. Completed
- All team members will participate in an educational workshop organized by the company. Completed
Goal #1 - Provide the committee charged with coordinating activities and reporting on progress made toward achieving our 2023 Reconciliation Plan with the time and resources to ensure our goals are accomplished.
- Monthly Reconciliation meetings are scheduled and regularly attended by all committee members. Completed
- Report submitted to the City of Winnipeg to share progress made toward achieving 1st-year goals as a partner of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord. Completed
- Submit our 2nd-year Reconciliation plan as part of the City of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord, and participate in a public signing ceremony. Completed
- Use our dedicated Truth & Reconciliation page to communicate year-one results and share quarterly progress toward 2023 Reconciliation goals. Completed
Goal #2 - Achieve team understanding about intermediate reconciliation concepts through education and conversation.
- Each quarter, all team members have read or watched the educational content as assigned and confirmed it by documenting it using our internal activity tracking sheet. Completed
- All four quarterly all-staff meetings will have a dedicated 30-minute reconciliation focus. 2/4 Completed
- All staff will have participated in an educational workshop organized by the company. Completed
Goal #3 - Research and develop an Indigenous Inclusion Policy
- Emerge will have developed and implemented an Indigenous Inclusion Policy by Feb 2024 (end of Q4 FY24). Incomplete
Goal #4 - Support Indigenous communities through community involvement and procurement
- Organize or identify at least one opportunity for staff to participate in an Indigenous community organization volunteer opportunity or an Indigenous-led event. Completed
- Procure at least one service from a local Indigenous-owned business. Completed
- Enhance our Indigenous business directory to make it easy for our team to procure from Canadian-based, Indigenous-owned businesses or Indigenous-centered social enterprises. Incomplete
Goal #1 - Implement & communicate 2022 reconciliation strategy
- Submit our Reconciliation Strategy and Plan as part of The City of Winnipeg Indigenous Accord (opens in a new tab) and participate in public signing ceremony Completed
Goal #2 - Achieve understanding about local Indigenous history, culture, and impacts of Colonialism
- Submit our Reconciliation Strategy and Plan as part of The City of Winnipeg Indigenous Accord (opens in a new tab) and participate in public signing ceremony Completed
Goal #3 - Engage Indigenous people through hiring
- All Emerge sub-committee members will have completed an educational course (opens in a new tab). Completed
- Every Emerge team member has read the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of Canada's 94 Calls to Action (opens in a new tab). Completed
- All staff will have participated in an educational workshop organized by the company. Completed
- Emerge will have organized or identified at least 2 opportunities for staff to participate in an Indigenous community organization volunteer opportunity or Indigenous-led event. 1/2
Goal #4 - Support Indigenous communities through community involvement and procurement
- Emerge will create a directory to make it easy for our team to procure from Canadian-based Indigenous-owned businesses or Indigenous-centered social enterprises. Completed
- Emerge will have procured at least one service from a local Indigenous-owned business. Ongoing
We recognize that the Emerge Head Office is based in Treaty No. 1 Territory - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (opens in a new tab) on the ancestral and current-day lands and waters of the Ojibway, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Denesuline Peoples, the heartland of the Métis Nation and home to many Inuit. Emerge also has staff based in other parts of Canada who are working and living in the traditional land of many other Indigenous peoples.
We also gratefully acknowledge that Winnipeg's water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation (opens in a new tab).