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But over coffee this Wednesday, she expanded on the reasons behind what she called her “quiet-protest” vote last week, her criticisms of the city’s overall reconciliation strategy, and, more broadly, her position on this council, where she sometimes finds herself, she said, a bit “alone.”

There were no financial implications directly tied to the reconciliation report before council last week, and council wasn’t voting on any spending or budget decisions, Katelyn Crabtree, the city’s Indigenous relations manager, said after the presentation.

“It’s an annual update,” Crabtree said.

The staff report’s recommendations simply asked council to accept the report for information, and Hardwick was the only councillor to vote against it.

“My decision to vote against accepting the recommendations on the reconciliation report was based on two areas of concern: truth and reconciliation,” Hardwick said. On the “truth” side, she said, “since I’ve been in office I’ve heard at least three presentations by city-related individuals, who have given presentations that, in my view, were selective in their truth-telling. They have distorted the truth, and aspects of First Nations culture are omitted or misrepresented or categorically incorrect.

“And on the reconciliation side of things, my question is: when are we reconciled? How much is about atoning? And what are the implications in terms of land and money? Land and money is really what it boils down to.”