As proposed in June 2021 by ReAllocateWR, the former Charles Street Bus Terminal offers an opportunity to transform existing space into an Indigenous Community Hub that can provide access to the services needed by the over 16,000 Indigenous People that call Waterloo Region home. Moreover, 10,000 of those who identify as Indigenous live in Kitchener. An Indigenous Community Hub located in downtown Kitchener would serve the majority of the local Indigenous population and be accessible to the larger Indigenous community in the region. Moreover, this centre being centrally located would serve as an active reminder to settlers that this is Indigenous land and advance Reconciliation efforts in our community. 

The Indigenous Community Hub would provide Gathering Space, Housing, Government Services, Health Clinic, Gardens, Entrepreneurial space, Daycare and Cafeteria, Artisanal Market etc. It would be a space designed and serviced by the Indigenous community for the Indigenous community. Organisations such as The Healing of the Seven Generations, KW Urban Native Wigwam Project and White Owl Native Ancestry Association have been chronically underfunded and in need of space to grow in order to meet the needs of the Indigenous peoples population in our community.

Therefore, we reiterate the calls from June 2021 and ask for the following actions to be taken:

1. We call on the Region of Waterloo to support and lead alongside the Indigenous community in advocating for an Indigenous community hub in the heart of Kitchener. 

2. We call on the Region of Waterloo to publicly share how much of the $15 million designated for Black and Indigenous initiatives is earmarked for the Indigenous community.

3. We call on the Region of Waterloo to use that earmarked funding for the Indigenous community in the creation of an Indigenous community hub.

4. We call on the Region of Waterloo to support Indigenous leaders and organizations as they design and craft a plan for the space;

5. We call on the Region of Waterloo to explicitly keep any police-led organizations, inclusive of Wellbeing Waterloo Region, from leading these engagements;

5. We call on Waterloo Regional Council to reallocate and prioritize in the 2022 Budget the funding of:
- Indigenous-led Community Care Services
- Indigenous-led Inclusive and Accessible Housing and Supportive Housing
- The creation and sustainability of Indigenous Community Hub

On this day, September 30th of Truth and Reconciliation, join us in challenging regional council to transform the Charles St Terminal into an Indigenous Community Hub.