FOURTH MEETING OF THE

RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR 2006

TOWN OF MARKHAM

Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre

May 1, 2006

 

MINUTES

 

Attendance

 

Members                                                                                Regrets

Linda Stewart, Chair                                                                 Raza Sumar

Ghulam Sajan                                                                           Moe Mohammed

Vicki Brar                                                                                Murali Visvalingam

Iris Leung                                                                                 Alex Ribeiro

Jan Godschalk                                                                          Councillor E. Shapero

Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti                                                        Councillor K. Usman

                                                                                                Warren Ali

 

Staff

Chris Raynor, Committee Secretary

Pam Cook, New Committee Secretary

 

The fourth meeting of the Markham Race Relations Committee in 2006 convened at 7:38 p.m. with Ms. Linda Stewart in the Chair.  Ms Stewart introduced Pam Cook, who will be the Committee Secretary while Mr. Raynor assists with the upcoming municipal elections.

 

1.      MINUTES OF THIRD MARKHAM RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING IN 2006 HELD ON APRIL 3, 2006

 

The Town of Markham Race Relations Committee recommends:

 

That the Minutes of the Town of Markham Race Relations Committee meeting held on April 3, 2006, be adopted.

CARRIED

 

 

2.      PRESENTATION –
WOMEN’S SUPPORT NETWORK OF YORK REGION

 

The representative from the Women’s Support Network of York Region was unable to attend. The matter may be deferred to the next meeting.

 

 

3.      UNESCO COALITION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM

 

Ms Stewart commented that the Committee has an interest in the UNESCO initiative and it was agreed that a small sub-group will meet to review the document in detail and report back to the next Race Relations Committee Meeting in June with a recommendation for Council.

 

 

4.      NOMINATIONS FOR LINCOLN M. ALEXANDER AWARD

 

There was discussion about the Lincoln M. Alexander Award for Leadership in Eliminating Racial Discrimination.  The purpose of the two awards, Student and Community, is to recognize young people who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in eliminating racial discrimination.  Ms Stewart will forward an E-mail to all members of the Race Relations Committee, the Chair of the Markham Youth Task Force, and Ricky Veerrappan of York Regional Police to request nominations for either of the awards.

 

 

5.      SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

 

a.      Events

 

The Chair congratulated the Events Sub-Committee for the tremendous success of the Many Faces of Markham on April 9th.  The change in format with fewer presenters for longer time periods seemed to be very well received.  The Clerk’s Department will investigate how many years this event has taken place and collect a copy of the program from each year.  Since keynote speakers need to be secured several months in advance, the Committee hopes to confirm an event date as soon as possible – March 25, 2007 is the tentative date.  Chris will check the Corporate Calendar for possible conflicts. 

 

It was agreed that the Events Sub-Committee will continue to meet monthly.  One of the mandates could be to investigate other cultural committees in Markham and possibly suggest representation from this Committee. 

 

b.      Policy

 

Ms Stewart suggested that the Policy Sub-Committee might consider the composition of the Committee. It was agreed that the Policy Sub-Committee will start to meet on a monthly basis. 

 

 

 

6.      COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE

 

A document titled Membership of Markham Race Relations Committee was received for discussion.  Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti indicated that applications for the Markham Race Relations will be going to Council for discussion on May 9, 2006 and it is possible that the two current vacancies will be filled by the June Committee meeting.

 

There was discussion surrounding the non-attendance of meetings by members. It was noted that the Town policy is that members can be removed from the Committee if they miss three (3) consecutive meetings, or four (4) or more meetings in a calendar year. Members who have been absent for extended periods of time will be contacted to determine their willingness or ability to continue on the Committee. 

 

 

7.      NEW BUSINESS

 

a.      York Region Arts Council – Artslink Workshop

The Chair tabled information concerning York Region Arts Council Artslink Workshop on Municipal Cultural Planning on May 10, 2006 and invited members to attend.

 

b.      Immigrants Living in York Region

The Chair introduced a report on Immigrants Living in York Region.  Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti indicated that twenty (20) copies will be provided to the Markham Race Relations Committee for their review.  Regional staff will be making a presentation to Council and community forums will be held to discuss the report.

 

c.       Building Character

The Clerks Department will provide five copies of the book entitled “Building Character” for the next meeting.  This book is sold at a cost of $13 per copy.

 

 

8.      ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting closed at 8:47 p.m.