Paddlers take to the Grand in the name of reconciliation

Around 60 canoes were launched into the Grand River Thursday morning, each one paddled downstream by an Indigenous person paired with a member of the local justice community. 

The reconciliation event was organized by Waterloo region Indigenous organizations and members of the regional police service. 

"It's to help build positive relationships and generate discussion between the Indigenous community and people in the justice services community," said organizer Pandora Wilhelm, with The Healing of the Seven Generations.

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Wilhelm said there are some negative stereotypes in the justice system, born from the over-representation of Indigenous people in Ontario and Canadian prisons. 

The goal of an event like Thursday's canoe trip is to break down some of those false assumptions on both sides by bringing the two groups together on neutral territory.

Organizers arranged the paddler so each canoe had at least one Indigenous community member and one justice community member. 

The canoes entered the Grand River at West Montrose, just downstream of the famous Kissing Bridge, and were scheduled to land at Kiwanis Park in Kitchener three hours later.

Jennifer Breithaupt was among the first to get into a canoe and hit the water. 

Breithaupt, who has her own law firm in Kitchener, closed the office Thursday so that she and her staff could participate in the reconciliation event. 

"We are obviously very interested in participating actively in reconciliation," she said, adding that a number of the children she represents come from Indigenous communities.

Kathy Absolon-King, an associate professor in indigenous studies with Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Social Work, admitted that coming to the canoe event was taking a step outside her comfort zone. 

But Absolon-King said she took the step in order to meet new people, and maybe form some new partnerships. 

"I sat with [an] officer on the bus and just by sitting with her on the bus we talked and that helps to break down the barriers, the perceptions, the assumptions we walk around with that can also get in the way of building relationships," she said.

Crystal Goulet, who supports Indigenous youth through her work with the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Management Board, said more needs to be done to strengthen the relationship between the Indigenous community and the justice system. 

"A lot of our youth have a lot of mistrust with the police force or have had experiences with their parole officers and things like that," she said.

"I think it's important to build these relationships so that our youth can even see themselves as being police officers and parole officers one day."