THIRD MEETING OF THE

RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR 2009

TOWN OF MARKHAM

 

Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre

Monday, May 4, 2009
7:15 PM – 9:00 PM

 

MINUTES

 

 

ATTENDANCE:

 

Committee

Jobson Easow, Chair

Rochelle Bowmile, Vice Chair

Aisha Manji

Winnie Wales

Vilvan Gunasingham

 

Staff

Nadine Daley, Manager of Human Resources

Laura Gold, Committee Clerk

 

 

 

Regrets

Regional Councillor T. Wong

Councillor L. Kanapathi

Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resource

Javaid Khan
Theresa Coulter

Kevin Koo

 

 

 

The third meeting of the Markham Race Relations Committee convened at 7:20 PM without quorum; Jobson Easow presided as Chair.

 

1.         CHAIRS OPENING REMARKS

 

The Chair reported that the 11th annual “Many Face of Markham” event was held on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Markham Theatre.  He advised that the Event was a success, noting the shorter timeframe was well received.

 

2.         MINUTES OF THE MARKHAM RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE

 

The Committee deferred the passing of the April 6, 2009 Race Relations Committee Minutes to the next meeting, as there was no quorum.

 

3.                  CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

 

There were no changes or additions to the agenda.

 

 

 

4.         BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES    

 

At the January 5, 2009 meeting a Committee Member had suggested inviting a Patrolling Officer to a future Race Relations Committee meeting.  Ms. Winnie Wales, Committee Member, advised that she would follow up with this request and report back to the Committee.

 

5.         MARKHAM HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE

 

5. A.    DIVERSITY UPDATE

 

Ms. Nadine Daley, Manager of Human Resources, updated the Committee on the Town’s Diversity Plan, advising that the Town was in the process of creating the first draft of the Diversity Plan.  She noted that the Town was working on improving its community engagement with respect to managing/embracing diversity within the Town, as the Town has not received the community input it was hoping to obtain to facilitate with the establishment of its Diversity Plan.    Ms. Daley reported the Town is still in the process of recruiting a Diversity Specialist, noting that it has been challenging to find an applicant that has all of the qualifications the Town is seeking. 

 

Ms. Daley reported that the Town is in the process of rolling out accessibility customer service standard for its services.

 

5. B.    VISION STATEMENT

 

Ms. Daley advised that the Town is still trying to establish a vision statement, noting Staff were having difficulty combining the feeling with the reality of inclusivity.

 

 

6.         NEXT MEETING DATE

 

The next meeting of the Race Relations Committee will be held on June 1, 2009 at 7:15 PM in the Ontario Room.

 

7.                  ADJOURNMENT

 

The fourth meeting of the Race Relations Committee adjourned at 8:00 PM.