Environmental Peacebuilding through Relationships: Lessons from the First Nations and Municipal Collaborative Hub Pilot in Ontario

Natalija Vojno, Our Future First (Canada)

The Collaborative Hub Pilot Project, led by the Shared Path Consultation Initiative in partnership with a First Nation, is an emerging model of environmental peacebuilding that offers a relationship-centred approach to land and water governance. Funded by the Greenbelt Foundation and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the Hub supports sustained dialogue between municipalities and First Nations. The goal of the Hub is to build relationships, discuss engagement tools, advance system-based planning approaches, and explore relationship agreements, contribution agreements, policy change, etc. The project stems from pre-pandemic efforts, including the Our Shared History workshop held in Treaty 45½, which brought together First Nations, municipalities, and Conservation Authorities to address shared values, responsibilities, and cumulative impacts. That gathering laid the groundwork for trust-building, cultural exchange, and collective analysis of shared pressures. The Hub was proposed as a space to move beyond the legal Duty to Consult and Accommodate toward eventual joint problem-solving—e.g. watershed protection and sustainable growth. Looking ahead, opportunities for collective impact include shared service agreements, tourism and economic development initiatives co-designed with First Nations, and natural asset co-management projects. These efforts could support critical water resource protection, the application of Indigenous knowledge systems, and the integration of natural assets into municipal budgets. In the current climate—marked by Ontario’s Bill 5 and Canada’s Bill C-5—such work is more urgent than ever. These shifts bypass First Nations’ inherent rights and constitutional protections, undermining the conditions necessary for peace, justice, and shared wellbeing. This presentation will share insights from the Hub’s co-design and early implementation and explore its potential for transformative impact.