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Indigenous-Municipal Intergovernmental Agreements: A Case Study Examining Substantive Collaboration, Gwendolyn Lowrie-Dennis

MPA Major Research Papers

Indigenous-municipal intergovernmental collaboration has been increasing across Canada. Some suggest it can act as either a tool to create empowering policy or as an instrument of authoritative control. This paper examines the case study of the Upper Ottawa Valley Medical Recruitment Committee and classifies its intergovernmental agreement as either symbolic or substantive. It does so by analyzing the frequency of communication, the decision-making processes used, the implementation of the agreement, and its outcomes. The findings suggest that the Committee achieved substantive results on all measures, but not without facing significant logistical and social barriers. Intergovernmental collaboration was ultimately beneficial in …