REPORT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

FROM:

Sheila Birrell, Town Clerk

Andy Taylor, Commissioner, Corporate Services

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Pat Miller, Manager, Secretariat Services

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

January 23, 2006

 

 

SUBJECT:

PROPOSED FAITH DAYS POLICY

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Town of Markham adopt a policy to endeavour not to book any statutory public meetings on any significant faith days.

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to establish a Town-wide Faith Days Policy to be used when scheduling public meetings.

 

BACKGROUND:

On October 11, 2005, Council directed that no statutory public meetings be held on high religious days and that staff bring forward a Town-wide policy regarding public meetings on religious days by the end of 2006.

 

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

2001 Statistics Canada data on Markham's population, by religion is:

 

            Roman Catholic                                    53,030

            Protestant                                             42,800

            Hindu                                                   11,890

            Muslim                                                 11,020

            Jewish                                                  10,940

            Christian Orthodox                               10,265

            Buddhist                                               7,115

            Sikh                                                     3,375

 

In an attempt to be as sensitive and inclusive as possible to foster a spirit of cooperation when scheduling meetings, staff contacted the following councils to request their most significant faith days ranked in order of importance:

 

            The Roman Catholic Archdioces of Toronto

            The Canadian Council of Churches

            The Canadian Council of Hindus

            The Canadian Islamic Congress

            The Canadian Jewish Congress, National Office

            The Greek Orthodox Metropolic of Toronto (Canada)

            The Buddhist Churches of Canada, National Headquarters

            The World Sikh Organization (Canada)

 

Although two requests were forwarded, no response was received from the Council of Hindus or the Islamic Congress (Muslim).

 

A calendar of faith days is attached as Appendix A.  On this calendar, staff has included the three (3) highest ranked days for each faith other than Jewish.  Inclusion of Jewish days was determined by the restrictions imposed by the faith day on observant Jews.  With respect to the Hindu and Muslim faiths, staff has included the days of which the Town was already aware.  Councillor Usman's office has confirmed, the Muslim faith days are all significant.  Their order of importance, however, has not been confirmed.

 

It should be noted that no public meetings have been scheduled for January 10, 2006.  To date, this is the only significant faith day on which a public meeting was scheduled.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

None

 

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

In keeping with the Town's Character Community initiative, this policy reflects the attributes of respect, inclusiveness and fairness.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

None

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A – Major Faith Day Calendar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheila Birrell, Town Clerk

 

Andy Taylor, Commissioner, Corporate Services

 

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