RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR 2009
TOWN OF MARKHAM
Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre
Monday, January 4, 2010
7:15 PM – 9:00 PM
MINUTES
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ATTENDANCE: Committee Councillor L. Kanapathi Theresa Coulter Jobson Easow Winnie Wales Vilvan Gunasingham Aisha Manji Prashanth Scrichandramohan Carla Crooks Staff Laura Gold, Committee Clerk Cheryl McConney-Wilson, Diversity Specialist |
Regrets Darius Sookram |
The first meeting of the Race Relations Committee convened at 7:16 p.m. with Mr. Jobson Easow presiding as Chair.
1. OPENING REMARKS
Mr. Easow welcomed the new members. He spoke about the Many Faces of Markham event and other activities of the committee. The Committee Members introduced themselves and spoke about there commitment to the Race Relations Committee.
2. ADOPTION OF MINUTES
Moved by Vilvan Gunasingham
Seconded by Winne Wales
That the Minutes of the November 2, 2009 Race Relations Committee be received as presented.
CARRIED
3. CHANGES OR ADDITION TO THE AGENDA
The Committee requested that item 6.A. Election of Chair and Vice Chair be dealt with first.
4. ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
Mr. Easow explained the following roles and responsibilities of the Chair:
· Reviewing the meeting minutes;
· Leading the planning and execution of the Many Faces of Markham event;
· Representing the Committee on other Town Committees (e.g. serving on the Olympic Torch Relay Committee);
· Representing the Committee at events/ activities organized by the Town (e.g. attending the citizenship ceremony, and attending a focus group for Chair’s of Town Advisory Committees);
· Commitment to complete a (1) year term.
Election of Chair
The Committee nominated Theresa Coulter for the position of Chair. Ms. Theresa Coulter accepted her nomination for the position of Chair.
Moved Vilvan Gunasingham
Seconded Liliana Soengas
That Ms. Theresa Coulter be elected to the position of Chair of the Race Relations Committee for a (1) year term.
CARRIED
Election of Vice-Chair
The Committee nominated Ms. Winnie Wales for the position of Vice- Chair. Ms. Winnie Wales accepted her nomination for the position of Vice-Chair.
Moved by Shila Desai
Seconded by Carla Crooks
That Ms. Winnie Wales be elected to the position of Vice Chair of the Race Relations Committee for a (1) year term.
CARRIED
5. HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE
Ms. Cheryl McConney -Wilson, Diversity Specialist, provided an update with respect to the diversity plan. She advised that the Town was in the process of trying to discover the feelings/spirit of its diversity research. Reporting that some of the research the Town has compiled includes: 1) general demographics of people living in Markham; 2) how people living in Markham identify themselves; and 3) what services are lacking in Markham. Ms. McConney advised that she was trying to learn more about how residents came to Markham. She hoped that residents could remember their journey to Markham, and relate their experience to what new immigrants to Markham may be experiencing today.
Ms. McConney advised that the Town was thinking about how it would like to position its diversity plan both internally and externally. She thought it was important to liaison with residents from different areas of Markham to seek their ideas with respect to how diversity should be handled in Markham. She also thought it was important to connect with other pillars in Markham like sustainability, to try to understand how it relates to diversity.
Ms. McConney advised that the diversity plan is currently being reviewed by internal stakeholders, noting that the next step was to obtain feedback from external stakeholders. There was discussion with respect to whose responsibility it is to make things happen once the diversity plan is implemented. She advised that the Town is aware of its need to improve communication with different groups of residents in Markham.
There was a brief discussion about how diversity could be re-framed/re-positioned. A Member suggested that Markham organizations be used as a vehicle to help deliver the diversity message. The Committee thought Facebook could be an effective social networking tool, and that it could be used to reach diverse groups of Markham residents. The Committee Members agreed that the banner placed over the street for the Milliken Mills Children’s Festival was an effective communication tool. Ms. McConney noted that the Town needs to use branded events like the Milliken Mills Children Festival to communicate other information. Members felt that residents must also make it a personal responsibility to be apart of the Town, and to educate themselves with respect to the services it provides.
6. SUB COMMITTEE EVENT SUB-COMMITTEE
Event Sub-Committee
The Many Faces of Markham event will be held on March 27, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. at Markham Theatre. Mr. Easow and Ms. Wales are the Co –Chairs of the 2010 Many Faces of Markham event. The event features cultural performers from the local area, school performances, and a writing and art competition. The Committee will judge the art and writing submissions on February 28 in the Ontario Room at 10:00 am, advising that it takes approximately 2-3 hours to judge the submissions. The following Members joined the Event Sub-Committee:
· Liliana Soengas
· Carla Crooks (offered to judge the writing submissions)
· Shila Desai (offered to judge the writing submissions)
Policy Sub-Committee
The Committee was advised that the Policy Sub-Committee is currently inactive. Members felt the focus should be on the Many Faces of Markham event at this time.
7. ACCESSIBILITY GUIDE
The Committee Clerk distributed the Accessible Customer Service Guide to the new committee members.
8. ADJOURNMENT
The first meeting of the Race Relations Committee adjourned at 8:55 p.m.