Tewin, a Contested Suburb: Complexities of Incorporating Reconciliation into Urban Planning Cat Carkner

Abstract

In settler-colonial nations such as Canada, cities and urban planning processes can act as mechanisms of colonial control. Moreover, there is a historic and ongoing underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in Canadian planning processes and municipal governments. However, some Indigenous groups are now challenging these exclusionary dynamics, asserting their right to the city through their own urban mega-projects. One such project is Tewin, a future residential development that Ottawa City Council agreed to include within the city’s new urban boundary in 2021. Tewin is a collaboration between the Algonquins of Ontario, a treaty-negotiating body of Algonquin communities, and Taggart Investments, a local development company. Tewin is said to be founded on Algonquin values, and local political proponents of the project have framed it as a symbol of reconciliation. However, both the project’s legitimacy and reconciliatory nature have been called into question by city planners and other Algonquin groups. Using the case study of Tewin, this paper demonstrates the complexities of enacting reconciliation through municipal planning initiatives. More specifically, it argues that local actors involved in reconciliatory urban planning must be prepared (i) to mediate between mainstream and Indigenous planning ideologies, and (ii) to carefully consider issues of identity when engaging in community consultation or participatory planning.

Keywords: Indigenous urbanism, reconciliation, urban planning.

In settler-colonial nations, cities are “key mechanisms of colonial expansion”,1 acting as economic command centres and residential hubs for settler populations. Thus, scholars have identified that cities and local governments in Canada are constructed as non-Indigenous spaces. Stranger-Ross describes the “widespread view that … Aboriginal people [have] no place in modern urban life”,2 even though over half of Indigenous peoples in Canada now live in urban centres.3 Meanwhile, Hertiz and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute note Indigenous peoples’ historic and ongoing underrepresentation in planning processes and municipal governments.4 However, some Indigenous groups are now challenging these exclusionary dynamics, asserting their right to the city through their own urban

Jordan Stanger-Ross, “Municipal Colonialism in Vancouver: City Planning and the Conflict over Indian Reserves, 1928–1950s,” Canadian Historical Review 89, no. 4 (2008): 543.

2 Stanger-Ross, “Municipal Colonialism in Vancouver,” 542.

3 Joanne Heritz, “From Self-Determination to Service Delivery: Assessing Indigenous Inclusion in Municipal Governance in Canada,” Canadian Public Administration 61, no. 4 (2018): 596.

4 Joanne Heritz, “From Self-Determination to Service Delivery: Assessing Indigenous Inclusion in Municipal Governance in Canada,” Canadian Public Administration 61, no. 4 (2018): 599; Ontario Professional Planners Institute, “Indigenous Perspectives in Planning” (Ontario Professional Planners Institute, 2019), 10, https://ontarioplanners.ca/OPPIAssets/Documents/OPPI/ Indigenous-Planning-Perspectives-Task-Force-Report-FINAL.pdf

5 Julie Tomiak, “Contesting the Settler City: Indigenous Self-Determination, New Urban Reserves, and the Neoliberalization of Colonialism,” Antipode 49, no. 4 (2017): 937.

6 Jon Willing, “Council Allows Algonquins of Ontario ‘Tewin’ Site inside a New Urban Boundary,” Ottawa Citizen, February 10, 2021, https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/council-allows-algonquins-of-ontario-tewin-site-inside-a-new-urban-boundary

7 CTV News Ottawa, “Ontario Approves Ottawa’s New Official Plan with Expanded Urban Boundary,” CTV News Ottawa, November 4, 2022, https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ontario-approves-ottawa-s-newofficial-plan-with-expanded-urban-boundary-1.6140323

8 Joanne Chianello, “Tewin Has Councillors Making up Planning Policy on the Fly,” CBC, February 9, 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/ news/canada/ottawa/tewin-reconciliation-1.5905975 mega-projects, such as Senákw in Vancouver or New Urban Reserves (NURs).5

9 AOO-Taggart, “Homepage,” Tewin, 2023, https://www.tewin.ca/ (AOO-Taggart, 2022).

10 Jamie Pashagumskum, “Tewin Development by Algonquins of Ontario Will Be Voted on Wednesday,” APTN News (blog), February 10, 2021, https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/ottawa-citycouncil-to-vote-on-tewin-housing-development-wednesday/ Jamie Pashagumskum, 2021.

11 However, given the length of the paper, judgments or conclusions concerning Tewin’s overall contribution to the mission of reconciliation are not within its scope.

Another such project is Tewin, a future residential development that the Ottawa City Council agreed to include within the city’s proposed new urban boundary in February 2021.6 The new urban boundary, which was officially endorsed by the provincial government in 2022 (albeit in an amended form), aims to expand Ottawa’s boundary, allowing the city to develop more land, supply more housing, and accommodate more residents.7 Tewin is a collaboration between the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO), a treaty-negotiating body of Algonquin communities, and Taggart Investments, a local development company. It will be a suburb of 45,000 residents, built on 445 hectares of land that AOO-Taggart bought from the province in 2020 for $16.9 million (Figure 1).8 The AOO promotes Tewin as a “community founded on Algonquin values” that will deliver “wide–scale socioeconomic benefits for the Algonquin people”.9 In line with this narrative, local political proponents of the project, including then-Mayor Jim Watson and City Councilor Tim Tierney, posited Tewin as a symbol of reconciliation when advocating for its approval. Tierney stated that the Council is “committed to reconciliation with local Indigenous communities and recognizes the importance of working with the [AOO] as a meaningful opportunity towards achieving that goal”10 (Pashagumskum, 2021).

However, both the project’s legitimacy and reconciliatory nature have been called into question by city planners and other Algonquin groups. Using the case study of Tewin, this paper demonstrates the complexities of enacting reconciliation through municipal planning initiatives. More specifically, it argues that local actors involved in reconciliatory urban planning must be prepared (i) to mediate between mainstream and Indigenous planning ideologies, and (ii) to carefully consider issues of identity when engaging in community consultation or participatory planning.11

To illustrate these points, I first explain how local actors struggle to find a balance between advancing reconciliation through Tewin and adhering to mainstream planning policy and expertise. Second, by exploring current debates around Indigenous identity, I show that determining which actors should be involved in such ‘reconciliatory’ urban planning is not a clear-cut process. Finally, I reflect on the task of incorporating Indigenous sovereignty and reconciliation into municipal planning practices and make suggestions for future research.12 existing suburbs, water mains, and public transit in Ottawa. Meanwhile, parcels of land that city planners usually recommend for inclusion in the new urban boundary achieve scores between 40 and 70.14 In a joint statement, local developers Claridge Homes and Minto, whose lands were initially passed over in favour of Tewin, expressed their dismay that the Council opted to sidestep a “prescribed scoring process … and include a parcel of land with a zero score on servicing”.15 The Council and AOO-Taggart also dismissed city planners’

Figure 1.

The area where the AOO and Taggart Investments will build Tewin. (www. tanakiwin.com)

Planning Policy: Progressive or Prohibitive?

Tewin has faced criticism and scrutiny from many urban actors, including Council members, planning staff, and local environmental groups.13 However, for most actors who oppose Tewin, the central issue is not its reconciliatory mission or Algonquin character. Rather, disapproval stems from its associated divergences from mainstream planning policy, namely the Tewin land’s inclusion in Ottawa’s new urban boundary despite its very low score on council-approved planning criteria. Parcels of Tewin land scored as low as -8 points due to deductions related to its distance from

12 Following Tomiak (2017), I want to briefly discuss my positionality in relation to this work. I am a Vietnamese-Canadian settler who grew up in Ottawa, on the traditional and unceded land of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. As such, I write as an outsider to the Algonquin Nation and do not intend to speak for them.

13 Willing, “Council Allows Algonquins of Ontario ‘Tewin’ Site inside a New Urban Boundary”; Chianello, “Tewin Has Councillors Making up Planning Policy on the Fly”; Paul Johanis, “Johanis: There’s No Need to Expand Ottawa’s Urban Boundary Anywhere,” Ottawa Citizen, October 4, 2022, https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/ johanis-theres-no-need-to-expand-ottawas-urban-boundary

14 Kate Porter, “Tewin: The Land at the Centre of Ottawa’s Reconciliation Controversy CBC News,” CBC, February 5, 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ tewin-parcel-details-planners-aoo-1.5901324

15 Kate Porter, “Algonquins Come out Sudden Winners in Urban Boundary Vote,” CBC, January 27, 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ algonquins-ontario-tewin-planning-arac-vote-1.5888419 request to prolong Tewin’s approval for a five-year study to comprehensively assess its long-term financial and environmental consequences, citing the time-sensitive nature of accomplishing reconciliation.16 By choosing Tewin lands over more highlyrated lands in the west,17 Council disregarded the Provincial Policy Statement, Ontario’s planning guidelines.18

Mayor Watson acknowledged planners’ unfavourable assessment of the Tewin lands, stating that “I know we have a point and a rating system, but I think at times you have to be flexible to recognize that when a proposal like this comes forwards and it’s the first of its kind, that we should take it seriously and look at its merits”.19 While the low quality of the Tewin lands will present real development challenges, Watson’s comments evoke Bouvier and Walker’s work, which questions if Indigenous inclusion in city planning should be “conditional upon strict adherence to colonial capitalism and

16 Chianello, “Tewin Has Councillors Making up Planning Policy on the Fly.”

17 That said, when the Ontario Provincial Government ultimately approved Ottawa City Council’s new official plan in November 2022 (which includes Tewin), they did make amendments to include additional areas for urban development. The provincial government’s amendments include land previously-passed over in favour of Tewin, such as the South March area (CBC News, 2022).

18 Chianello, “Tewin Has Councillors Making up Planning Policy on the Fly.”

19 Kate Porter, “Watson Seeks Reconciliation with Algonquins of Ontario Development | CBC News,” CBC, January 27, 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/watson-support-algonquins-of-ontario-taggart-development-1.5890474 settler (including municipal) regulatory authority.”20 Tewin’s opponents could reflect on the financial and technical difficulties involved in developing the Tewin lands (costly expansion of water pipes and transit, for example) and ask themselves if these factors should take precedence over the project’s potential socio-economic contributions to reconciliation.

20 Noelle Bouvier and Ryan Walker, “Indigenous Planning and Municipal Governance: Lessons from the Transformative Frontier.,” Canadian Public Administration 61, no. 1 (2018): 133.

21 Bouvier and Walker, 131.

22 John Forester, Planning in the Face of Power, 1989, 28.

23 Bouvier and Walker, “Indigenous Planning and Municipal Governance,” 131.

24 Due to legacies of and ongoing colonialism, there are debates regarding the authenticity or legitimacy of non-status-holding Indigenous peoples’ claim to Indigenous identity. Because of the Indian Act, there are many people of First Nations descent who are unable to acquire ‘Indian Status’ or memberships in First Nations communities. Some individuals also hold the view that those who hold status are the only ‘authentic’ First Nations or Indigenous peoples, causing tension. For more information, see: https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/indian_status/.

Tewin is a development that compromises adherence to colonial-derived mainstream planning practices and expertise in favour of centering reconciliation and Indigenous planning proposals. This case study demonstrates that incorporating reconciliation into municipal planning practices may involve the complicated task of negotiating conflicting demands from the “parallel traditions of colonial-derived mainstream and Indigenous planning”.21 Urban centres that seek to develop similar projects should be prepared to navigate similar conflicts between actors and planning goals.

Reconciliatory Planning: Who Gets a Seat at the Table?

Forester writes that planners, by merit of shaping who is involved in the planning process, “can make that process more democratic or less.”22 In the Canadian context, making planning processes more democratic must involve consulting Indigenous peoples and recognizing their “distinctive rights and title beyond those of typical urban stakeholders”,23 given their ongoing exclusion from planning practices, as well as their position as the traditional stewards of the land. However, the controversy surrounding the legitimacy of the AOO’s claim to Indigeneity demonstrates that planners and municipal governments must exercise caution and cultural sensitivity when choosing who to consult in ‘reconciliatory’ planning processes.24

Out of the ten Algonquin communities that make up the AOO, only the Ontario-based Pikwakanagan First Nation is a federally recognized, status-holding Algonquin community.25 In light of this, many of the recognized Algonquin communities that are not part of the AOO have criticised the Council for failing to consult them on Tewin, given that they are championing it as an act of reconciliation.26 In a joint statement, the Chiefs of the recognized Wolf Lake, Timiskaming, and Barriere Lake Algonquin communities condemned the Council’s approval of the project. They argued that “reconciliation is long overdue. But we believe that it must be done in the right way, and with the right parties”.27 The process of achieving reconciliation through a project on unceded lands, the chiefs argued, “must take place between two nations, not between a municipal government and an organisation or company”.28 Kitigan Zibi First Nation Elder Claudette Commanda went as far as to deem then-Mayor Watson’s endorsement of Tewin as a flawed attempt to get a “gold star on his reconciliation report card”.29 In response to this backlash, Chief of Pikwakanagan First Nation Wendy Jocko and Ottawa AOO representative Lynn Clouthier defended their Algonquin identity and reiterated the reconciliatory nature of Tewin. Jocko asserted that any status-holding Algonquin questioning the Indigeneity of the AOO’s non-status Algonquin groups was subscribing to colonial-minded definitions of Indigenous identity.30

Considering Ottawa’s existence on unceded Algonquin territory and the Council’s proclamation of Tewin as “reconciliation with local Indigenous communities”,31 it stands to reason that every recognized Algonquin community, regardless of whether or not the AOO should be considered a legitimate representative of the Algonquin nation, should have been consulted before Tewin was given the green light in the name of reconciliation. As the debates around the identities of Tewin’s partners demonstrate, planners and municipal governments attempting to enact reconciliation via planning initiatives should be mindful of whom they include in the planning process to ensure that these initiatives respect all Indigenous actors and meaningfully contribute to their goal of reconciliation.

Reflections

Undoubtedly, advancing the Indigenization of the city and Indigenous participation in planning processes are necessary goals for local actors, primarily municipal politicians and planners. However, as debates surrounding Tewin demonstrate, these are not straightforward tasks. In shaping the ‘reconciliatory city’, urban governance actors must be keenly aware of the tensions between Indigenous versus mainstream colonial planning policies and expertise. Moreover, they should be cognizant of the complexities of Indigenous identity.

Future research could compare the urban governance dynamics surrounding Tewin with those of other urban Indigenous developments, such as the Squamish Nation’s Senákw mega-project in Vancouver or the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation’s NURs. Moreover, the current research could be elaborated on once Tewin’s master plan is released. Who, for example, was consulted while drafting the plan? Although out of the scope of this short paper, questions of how effectively speculative and capitalist real estate projects such as these can advance Indigenous sovereignty are also worthy of further analysis.

25 Hafez, “Algonquin Anishinabeg vs. The Algonquins of Ontario: Development, Recognition & Ongoing Colonization - Yellowhead Institute,” Yellowhead Institute, February 18, 2021, https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2021/02/18/algonquin-anishinabeg-vs-the-algonquins-of-ontario-development-recognition-ongoing-colonialization/.

26 Joanne Laucius, “Chiarelli Asks Province to Delay Approving Official City Plan so New Council Can Reconsider Tewin,” Ottawa Citizen, September 18, 2022, https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ bob-chiarelli-asks-province-to-delay-approving-official-plan-so-newcouncil-can-reconsider-tewin-lands

27 Algonquin Nation Secretariat, “Algonquin Nation Secretariat Calls for Tewin Project to Be Put on Ice.” (Algonquin Nation Secretariat, February 8, 2021), http://new-wordpress.algonquinnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ANS-Press-Release-AOO-Tewin.pdf

28 Kate Porter and Joanne Chianello, “Council Greenlights Algonquins of Ontario Land for Future Suburb | CBC News,” CBC, February 11, 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ urban-boundary-tewin-council-vote-properties-1.5908405.

29 Porter and Chianello.

30 Hafez, “Algonquin Anishinabeg vs. The Algonquins of Ontario: Development, Recognition & Ongoing Colonization - Yellowhead Institute.”

31 City of Ottawa, “Indigenous Relations,” City of Ottawa, November 14, 2022, https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/creating-equal-inclusive-and-diverse-city/indigenous-relations; Pashagumskum, “Tewin Development by Algonquins of Ontario Will Be Voted on Wednesday.”

References

Algonquin Nation Secretariat. “Algonquin Nation Secretariat Calls for Tewin Project to Be Put on Ice.” Algonquin Nation Secretariat, February 8, 2021. http://new-wordpress.algonquinnation. ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ANS-Press-Release-AOO-Tewin.pdf.

AOO-Taggart. “Homepage.” Tewin, 2023. https://www.tewin.ca/

Bouvier, Noelle, and Ryan Walker. “Indigenous Planning and Municipal Governance: Lessons from the Transformative Frontier.” Canadian Public Administration 61, no. 1 (2018): 130–35.

Chianello, Joanne. “Tewin Has Councillors Making up Planning Policy on the Fly.” CBC, February 9, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/tewin-reconciliation-1.5905975

City of Ottawa. “Indigenous Relations.” City of Ottawa, November 14, 2022. https://ottawa.ca/ en/city-hall/creating-equal-inclusive-and-diverse-city/indigenous-relations

CTV News Ottawa. “Ontario Approves Ottawa’s New Official Plan with Expanded Urban Boundary.” CTV News Ottawa, November 4, 2022. https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ ontario-approves-ottawa-s-new-official-plan-with-expanded-urban-boundary-1.6140323.

Forester, John. Planning in the Face of Power, 1989.

Hafez. “Algonquin Anishinabeg vs. The Algonquins of Ontario: Development, Recognition & Ongoing Colonization - Yellowhead Institute.” Yellowhead Institute, February 18, 2021. https:// yellowheadinstitute.org/2021/02/18/algonquin-anishinabeg-vs-the-algonquins-of-ontario-development-recognition-ongoing-colonialization/.

Heritz, Joanne. “From Self-Determination to Service Delivery: Assessing Indigenous Inclusion in Municipal Governance in Canada.” Canadian Public Administration 61, no. 4 (2018): 596–615.

Johanis, Paul. “Johanis: There’s No Need to Expand Ottawa’s Urban Boundary Anywhere.” Ottawa Citizen, October 4, 2022. https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/ johanis-theres-no-need-to-expand-ottawas-urban-boundary

Laucius, Joanne. “Chiarelli Asks Province to Delay Approving Official City Plan so New Council Can Reconsider Tewin.” Ottawa Citizen, September 18, 2022. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/ local-news/bob-chiarelli-asks-province-to-delay-approving-official-plan-so-new-council-canreconsider-tewin-lands.

Nejad, Sarem, Ryan Walker, Brenda Macdougall, Yale Belanger, and David Newhouse. “‘This Is an Indigenous City; Why Don’t We See It?’ Indigenous Urbanism and Spatial Production in Winnipeg.” The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien 63, no. 3 (2019): 413–24.

Ontario Professional Planners Institute. “Indigenous Perspectives in Planning.” Ontario Professional Planners Institute, 2019. https://ontarioplanners.ca/OPPIAssets/Documents/OPPI/ Indigenous-Planning-Perspectives-Task-Force-Report-FINAL.pdf.

Pashagumskum, Jamie. “Tewin Development by Algonquins of Ontario Will Be Voted on Wednesday.” APTN News (blog), February 10, 2021. https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/ ottawa-city-council-to-vote-on-tewin-housing-development-wednesday/.

Porter, Kate. “Algonquins Come out Sudden Winners in Urban Boundary Vote.” CBC, January 27, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ algonquins-ontario-tewin-planning-arac-vote-1.5888419.

Porter, Kate, and Joanne Chianello. “Council Greenlights Algonquins of Ontario Land for Future Suburb | CBC News.” CBC, February 11, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ urban-boundary-tewin-council-vote-properties-1.5908405

Stanger-Ross, Jordan. “Municipal Colonialism in Vancouver: City Planning and the Conflict over Indian Reserves, 1928–1950s.” Canadian Historical Review 89, no. 4 (2008): 541–80.

“Tewin: The Land at the Centre of Ottawa’s Reconciliation Controversy | CBC News.” CBC, February 5, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ tewin-parcel-details-planners-aoo-1.5901324.

Tomiak, Julie. “Contesting the Settler City: Indigenous Self-Determination, New Urban Reserves, and the Neoliberalization of Colonialism.” Antipode 49, no. 4 (2017): 928–45.

“Watson Seeks Reconciliation with Algonquins of Ontario Development | CBC News.” CBC, January 27, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ watson-support-algonquins-of-ontario-taggart-development-1.5890474.

Willing, Jon. “Council Allows Algonquins of Ontario ‘Tewin’ Site inside a New Urban Boundary.” Ottawa Citizen, February 10, 2021. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ council-allows-algonquins-of-ontario-tewin-site-inside-a-new-urban-boundary