Kickoff Meeting: Winnipeg, May 13, 2024
This kickoff meeting served as a foundational gathering, part of Phase 1: Establishing the Convenor of CLI, to launch the co-development of Winnipeg’s Biodiversity Policy and Greenspace Plan. Bringing together City leadership, Indigenous leaders, and CIER, the session aimed to set the tone for a collaborative and inclusive process that reflects shared priorities and strengthens relationships. The City asked Indigenous leaders if they were interested in doing things differently, and explored the principles of co-development as a meaningful approach to fulfilling Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord, while laying the groundwork for a government-to-government partnership. Through introductions, reflections, and discussions, this meeting established a shared vision and resulted in a shared commitment to move forward collectively.
Meeting #1: Winnipeg, November 28, 2024
This first official co-development meeting marked the beginning of a structured, collaborative process to create Winnipeg’s Greenspace and Natural Corridors Plan Bylaw and Biodiversity Policy. The session was part of Phase 2: Building the Foundation for Reconciliation of the CLI process, designed to establish roles, build relationships, and align expectations among the City of Winnipeg, the Co-Development Team, and Planning Team. Participants reviewed the City’s original process and vision, gained insights into the planning approach, and began shaping a framework for collaboration. Through presentations, activities, and goal setting, the meeting laid a strong foundation for co-development by fostering mutual understanding, identifying priorities, and setting the stage for productive engagement in the months ahead.
Meeting #2: Winnipeg, March 7, 2025
This full-day meeting began with municipal leads of the Greenspace Plan providing an overview to the Co-Development Team on the Plan’s Vison and Guiding Principles, including how it was developed, how it has been used to guide the development of the funding proposal for Planning Services, and the direction they will take in drafting the deliverables. The Co-Development Team then worked together in refining the Vision and Principles to reflect their knowledge and wisdom. The Planning Team presented an update on the status of their work, including upcoming community engagements through public surveys, a Greenspace Plan website, and stakeholder/rightsholder workshops.
Meeting #3: Winnipeg, May 6, 2025
This half-day meeting focused on refining the Co-Development Team’s additions to the Greenspace Plan’s Vision and Guiding Principles, and the Key Focus Areas. The Co-Development Team also had an in-depth discussion with CIER on how best to reflect their own respective governments and organizations’ values and knowledge in the finalization of these key documents. The Planning Team provided a brief update and committed to meeting with the Co-Development Team when their first draft of the State of the Landscape Report is completed this June, 2025. The Co-Development Team will have a chance to review and provide direction on this deliverable to the Planning Team.
Meeting #4: Winnipeg, September 9, 2025
This full-day meeting focused on digging into the Key Focus Areas (KFA) that were identified to guide the Planning Process. The Co-Development Team outlined key actions for success under each KFA, which will provide direction to the Planning Team in shaping the Biodiversity Policy and Greenspace Plan. They also identified a variety of qualitative and quantitative measures that could be used to track the success of the plan’s implementation. Additionally, the Planning Team provided an update on the key findings of the State of the Landscape Report and discussed strategies for the Co-Development Team to continuously provide direction and guidance on this moving forward.
Meeting #5: Winnipeg, November 26, 2025
This full-day meeting was an opportunity for the Co-Development Team to give final direction to the Planning Team before they prepare the first draft of the Greenspace and Plan and Biodiversity Policy. All participants received a Co-Development Direction Binder which was a compilation of all the direction, feedback, and guidance provided by the Co-Development Team to date. A large portion of the meeting was spent on the HTFC workshop, where the team was divided into three discussion groups to reflect on a series of questions. Planners from HTFC recorded discussion through notes and stated they would use the information and discussion from the workshop to draft the by-law’s points. Afterwards, the group had the opportunity to answer a series of guiding questions from CIER to give final direction to the Planning Team. The meeting concluded with a discussion on the next steps and how the Co-Development materials will be utilized.
Meeting #6: Buffalo Crossing, Winnipeg, March 6, 2026
This full-day meeting focused on gathering feedback and guidance from the Co-Development Team on the first draft of the Greenspace Plan & Biodiversity Policy. The meeting began with a presentation from the City with an overview of the City Policy and Bylaw processes. The City and HTFC highlighted the work of the Co-Development Team and presented an overview of the co-development process and timeline and described the four key documents that are being developed: 1) the State of the Landscape Report, 2) Greenspace Plan, 3) Biodiversity Policy, and 4) Strategic Implementation Plan. HTFC provided a presentation on how the Co-Development process has guided the Greenspace Plan and explained the Plan and specific policies in-depth. Through discussion, the Team provided further feedback and guidance on specific parts of the Plan. The City has also received direction to bring forward the Implementation Plan so that it can accompany the Greenspace Plan and Biodiversity Policy at public hearings.
Meeting #7: Susan A. Thompson Building, Winnipeg, May 25, 2026
This half-day meeting focused on status updates, timeline revisions, and determining the next steps in the co-development process. An Elder opened the meeting with a prayer, followed by welcoming remarks from Mayor Scott Gillingham who thanked the Co-Development Team for all of their work over the past two years. CIER provided an overview of the work the Co-Development Team has completed to date. The City provided an update on the status of the City’s internal review process and presented a revised timeline process. The Co-Development team gave positive feedback regarding the updates from the City. The meeting was concluded with a roundtable discussion led by CIER to collect final thoughts and reflections and determine the next steps in the process.
