Laura Blease is the Manager of Heritage Partnerships and Consultation at the Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism (MCM), providing a leadership role in a newly established unit, focused on building relationships with Indigenous communities in the heritage and archeology space. Laura and her team travel around the province building partnerships and seeking input from Indigenous communities on the Heritage Framework Transformation. One of the elements of this work, is creating pathways for First Nations involvement in the sector as well exploring how to create training opportunities. Laura is also working closely with a number of First Nation communities on Indigenous-led repatriation processes to return Ancestors currently in the ministries care, to their rightful homes.
Before joining the MCM team, Laura spent a couple of years leading efforts at Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation (IAFNER) in areas such as training and economic development, food sovereignty, housing, water infrastructure funding, tourism and many others. Prior to IAFNER Laura spent 17 years at the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) where she developed a number of pieces of legislation, regulations and programs to help support protection of the land and waters in the province,
in a variety of areas such as the Great Lakes, water, wastewater and stormwater management, excess soil and brownfields, Lake Simcoe, cage aquaculture and drinking water protection. In this role, she had the wonderful opportunity to work closely with a number of Indigenous communities and organizations, in building partnerships and a voice at the table in ministry policy and initiatives. When not at work, Laura spends her free time running her not for profit organization, traveling and taking every opportunity to spend time in nature, with an occasional mud run.