As Hamilton considers expansion, First Nations experts watch how consultation unfolds

This article is part of a week-long CBC Hamilton series called, "How should cities grow? Hamilton's boundary dilemma," examining urban sprawl and boundary expansion.

Indigenous experts have questions about how Hamilton is consulting with First Nations communities about potentially expanding its urban boundary.

With pressure from the Ontario government and expectations the city will gain 110,300 new households by 2051, Hamilton is considering developing more than 1,300 hectares of "Whitebelt lands," or land outside the city's current urban boundary that isn't protected as part of the Greenbelt.

But one important question hasn't received much attention: How much Indigenous consultation has there been amid potential plans to expand the boundary? 

The discussion around meaningful Indigenous consultation when it comes to land and development has become more prominent across Canada in recent years. The recent case of 1492 Land Back Lane, where members of Six Nations occupied the site of a major housing project in Caledonia, Ont., forcing its cancellation, put a spotlight on developments near Hamilton in particular. 

When it comes to future developments even close to the city, of interest is the area called Elfrida, on the southeastern edges of town, where expansion has been considered. 

Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation both have equal claim to the land in Elfrida, according to Rick Monture.

Monture is a McMaster University associate professor in the departments of English, cultural and Indigenous studies.

"I think Hamilton does have a duty to consult with both Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas peoples on these issues," he said.

That would include Six Nations elected council, the Haudenosaunee hereditary chiefs and Mississaugas of the Credit's elected council.

City spokesperson Michelle Shantz said staff have been notifying and requesting consultation with local Indigenous communities and organizations about its development plans — called the Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy, now version GRIDS2 — since spring of 2018.

She said that in January, the city also requested comments or followup meetings to discuss the draft Land Needs Assessment and potential urban boundary expansion.

The city said it didn't receive formal comments, but did meet with the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre in early 2021.

More recently, on Oct. 28, Shantz said city staff emailed local Indigenous communities for comments about the evaluation framework for the plan set to be presented Tuesday.