Indigenous training group upset with Thunder Bay, Ont., library after lease ends

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 06, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 6

An Indigenous assemblage radical is questioning the Thunder Bay Public Library's (TBPL) committedness to reconciliation aft the room ended a concern and lease statement successful May. The TBPL says it was a straightforward determination to marque abstraction for programming, and that it is committed to affirmative relationships with the Indigenous community.

The Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS), works connected improving the skills and employment opportunities for Indigenous radical connected behalf of 9 First Nations successful the region.

Sharon Ostberg, a committee subordinate of AETS, said the room archetypal approached the radical astir a concern successful 2018, offering abstraction successful the basement of its Waverley branch.

"We would of people person to retrofit it astatine our cost," she said. "We agreed, and we did walk implicit $1,000,000 successful retrofitting the basement level of the room successful bid to accommodate our our unit and our programs."

The renovations included the summation of washrooms, a boardroom and a kitchen, arsenic good arsenic electrical upgrades and ventilation.

Ostberg said the lease initially included first close of refusal to acquisition the Waverley subdivision building, if it were to beryllium enactment up for sale.

AETS, Ostberg said, utilized the abstraction for programme delivery.

"We needed much abstraction due to the fact that we took connected much programs," she said. "So we rented the Brodie Street basement and and did immoderate retrofits there, due to the fact that astatine the clip the room didn't know where they were going, what their aboriginal held."

Library ended lease to woody with shortage of abstraction says CEO

The archetypal 2018 lease with AETS, room CEO Richard Togman said, was for 3 years, and it was initially signed earlier helium came connected committee arsenic CEO. That was extended twice, with each hold being for 1 year.

"During those hold periods, that's erstwhile the room was going done its full maestro facilities program and was evidently advocating astatine the assemblage that we needed much space, that we were undersized and we were hoping we were going to get a cardinal room location," helium said.

"We were very clear with everyone progressive that we didn't person a surplus of abstraction and we were hoping that a caller cardinal room would springiness america the abstraction we needed."

The projected cardinal library, which would person been located astatine Intercity Shopping Centre, was yet voted down by metropolis council.

"Effectively we went backmost to the drafting board, looked astatine our interior spaces, and wherever we tin get the carnal quadrate footage we request to bash enactment astir things similar improving children's programming and opening up much gathering rooms to the community, and conscionable mostly being capable to grow our publication collection. All the halfway room things that we do," helium said.

"And astatine that time, we realized that the narration with AETS wasn't gathering the objectives that had primitively been portion of the lease agreement."

Togman said the room had enactment from its erstwhile elder advisor for Indigenous relations successful ending the lease.

"We gave them a generous announcement play of astir 7 months to fto them cognize that we needed the abstraction backmost for the library," Togman said. "We had obligations to the community, and legally we tin lone lease retired abstraction if it's deemed surplus by the room system."

"At that point, it was evident that it was not surplus. We were really choky connected quadrate footage."

'Missed opportunity': AETS committee subordinate says

"To me, this was a very missed accidental by some the metropolis and the room board, due to the fact that they had, you know, a autochthonal enactment close astatine their doorsteps moving with them," Ostberg said. 

"It doesn't beryllium good with the Indigenous radical and it does decidedly does not beryllium good with our 9 First Nations." 

Togman said portion helium can't straight talk connected the archetypal lease arsenic it came astir earlier helium was CEO, "my knowing of the intent astatine the clip was that they were going to beryllium a batch of associated programming, and a benignant of gradual integration of the organizations."

"It was going to effect successful them promoting room services successful the Indigenous assemblage and benignant of a batch of multifaceted aspects successful that respect."

However, an investigation done by the room showed the task wasn't moving retired arsenic intended.

"It wasn't furthering the room schools of reconciliation with the community," Togman said. "They were inactive precise 2 abstracted organizations with antithetic mandates. And arsenic clip evolved, that became much and much apparent."

Regarding the renovations, Togman said the lease agreements stated AETS would not person immoderate compensation oregon reimbursements for immoderate improvements they made to room spaces.

"From the library's perspective, we're committed to honouring our agreements and upholding each of the ineligible obligations we person erstwhile we marque commitments to different organizations, and we've upheld each committedness nether the presumption of the lease," helium said.

Togman said the room is moving hard connected efforts astir reconciliation and programming that serves the Indigenous community. He besides noted that the room has appointed the adjacent elder advisor of Indigenous relations, Stephanie MacLaurin. 

"We're expanding the integer cognition centres. We're moving toward doing much Indigenous-led programming, much communicative times, based connected Indigenous cognition and culture. We're highly committed to the enactment of reconciliation."