Report to: General Committee Date Report Authored: May 31, 2010
SUBJECT: Markham Diversity Action Plan
PREPARED BY: Nadine Daley, Manager Human Resources ext. 3225
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the report entitled “Markham Diversity Action Plan” be received; and,
2) That Council approve the Plan as attached; and,
3) That Council direct the Director of Human Resources to coordinate the development of implementation plans for the recommendations and report progress annually to Council while also incorporating the Diversity Action Plan into annual business planning processes; and further
4) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide information relating to community feedback on the Markham Diversity Action Plan and to update Council on the resulting revisions to the Plan.
BACKGROUND:
On May 17, 2010 a report and presentation were made to Council regarding the first draft of the Markham Diversity Action Plan entitled Everyone Welcome. At that meeting deputations were made by several external stakeholders in particular; Bob Santos CEO, Link Up Employment Services, Vilvan Gunasingham on behalf of the Race Relations Committee, Inspector Ricky Veerapan of York Regional Police and Janice Chu, Director of Community Investment of the United Way of York Region. All spoke in favour of the development and implementation of the Plan. Council subsequently approved the draft Plan for the purpose of gathering additional feedback from the community.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
Five (5) community consultation sessions were held across Markham in the month of May. In addition, the draft Plan was made available for electronic comment via the Town’s internet site.
The feedback gathered from the community consultation sessions was then organized into themes and are summarized as follows:
Theme 1 - Confirmation of Plan
content
· Comments identified that the overall Plan was impressive, well laid out and visually appealing.
· Appreciation was expressed that the content identified broad issues and solutions which impact the collective Markham community including highlighting Markham’s history.
· All focus groups commented on the broad nature of the recommendations and anticipated receiving information regarding the work plans that will be developed.
Theme 2 - Revisions to the Plan
· Suggestions were made requesting that the GIS map incorporate additional elements related to the Town’s offerings. Specifically the identification of Seniors Centers, Welcome Centers, Community Gardens and Park Spaces. Other suggestions were made regarding the incorporation of elements which were outside of Markham’s mandate. These included demographics, places of worship, hospitals, and transportation routes.
· Several aesthetic and editorial suggestions were made with a view to improving the legibility and flow of the document.
Theme 3 – Recommendations
· An additional recommendation was put forward by several participants. It was recommended that the Town create interactive accessibility maps of Town facilities to be posted on the Town’s Intranet. The maps would facilitate physical access to Town facilities and enhance the customer service experience.
Theme 4 - Distribution
· All focus groups want a broad distribution of the Plan that will increase community awareness of the document.
The Plan has been revised with consideration to the feedback received. Where requests to incorporate information fell outside of the scope of the Corporation’s responsibilities a reference was included in the Plan identifying where additional information could be obtained.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Not applicable.
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not applicable.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The Diversity Action Plan has been aligned to incorporate key recommendations relating to the areas of: Economic Development, Environment, Growth Management, Transportation/Transit, Municipal Services: Parks, Recreation, Culture and Library Master Plan/Public Safety.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All business units.
RECOMMENDED
BY:
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix A – Town of Markham Diversity Action Plan – Presentation to General Committee
Diversity%20presentation%20to%20GC.ppt