CUPE 905 represents 6,000 members serving our communities in the Municipal and Library sectors across York Region and New Tecumseth.

In York Region, we live, work and complete this meeting on the traditional lands and territory of a number of First Nations including the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, and the Mississaugas of the Credit as well as the Huron Wendat, Petun, and the Anishinabek people.

This area is in the ‘Dish with One Spoon Territory’. The Dish with One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. We all eat out of the Dish, all of us that share this territory, with only one spoon. That means we have to share the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty, which includes taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with. Importantly, there are no knives at the table, representing that we must keep the peace.

As union members, we are grateful for the opportunity to meet here; we thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land. In doing so, we also pledge our unwavering commitment to continuously honour, protect, and sustain this land.