FIFTH MEETING OF THE

MARKHAM RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE

FOR 2005

TOWN OF MARKHAM

Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre

June 6, 2005

 

MINUTES

 

Attendance

 

Members

 

Regrets

Iris Leung

 

Moe Mohammed

Ray Lum

 

Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti

Alex Ribeiro

 

Councillor E. Shapero

Linda Stewart

 

Murali Visvalingam

Ghulam Sajan

 

 

Vicki Brar

 

 

Raza Sumar

 

 

Councillor K. Usman

 

 

Warren Ali

 

 

Jan Godschalk

 

 

 

Staff
C. Raynor, Committee Secretary

The fifth meeting of the Markham Race Relations Committee in 2005 convened at 7:30 p.m. with Linda Stewart in the Chair.

1.         ADMINISTRATION

The Town of Markham Race Relations Committee recommends:

That the Minutes of the Town of Markham Race Relations Committee meeting held on May 2, 2005, be adopted.

2.         COMMUNICATIONS

a)         Letters from Police Chief A. La Barge to Ms. L. Stewart and Councillor E. Shapero regarding Many Faces of Markham

THE MARKHAM RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

 

That the letters from Police Chief A. La Barge to Ms. L. Stewart and Councillor E. Shapero praising Many Faces of Markham, be received;

 

And that an additional letter from Ms. M. Aldridge, York Region District School Board Trustee praising Many Faces of Markham be received.

 

b)         Letter from Ombudsman Ontario inviting members to an open house on June 23, 2005

Ms. Stewart agreed to follow up in order to establish the worthiness of attending.

 

3.         OUTSTANDING ITEMS

a)         OVSS Grants

Ms. Stewart advised that there was insufficient time to submit a grant request.

 

            b)         Communities in Bloom Colour Your Corner

The Committee Clerk agreed to obtain a list of spaces available for adoption, at which point the Committee will make a decision whether to proceed with adopting a corner or park.

 

 

4.         ACTION PLAN

 

Ms. Stewart distributed a collation of members’ suggested ideas. It was noted that there were a great many suggestions and that it will be necessary to prioritize them. The Committee was advised that the date for the community consultation exercise will be June 23 or June 29, 2005. Additionally, Ms. Stewart will be providing an update to Council, and inviting them to attend, on June 14, 2005.

 

 

5.         YORK REGION’S INCLUSIVITY ACTION PLAN

 

The Committee was provided with copies of the Inclusivity Action Plan produced by York Region. The Committee expressed support for the exercise and Ms. Stewart agreed to respond, as well as to invite a representative to attend the community consultation on June 23 or June 29, 2005.

 

 

6.         NEW BUSINESS

 

            a)         Tsunami Benefit Dinner

The Committee was reminded that the Tsunami Benefit dinner is taking place on June 3, 2005. Members interested in attending were requested to advise Elsa Fiorino, Assistant to Councillor K. Usman so a table can be organized.

 

            b)         Incident Response Protocol

The Committee briefly considered its role in responding to incidents, especially between meetings. It was suggested that a response protocol might be created but that it will need to be approved by Council.

 

            c)         Summer Meetings

The Committee agreed not to hold meetings in July and August but that a Sub-Committee comprised of Ray Lum, Vicki Brar, Ghulam Sajan, Alex Ribeiro, Linda Stewart and Jan Godschalk, and open to any other interested members, will continue to work on the strategic plan.

 

            d)         Community Event

Ghulam Sajan advised that a Sikh Temple is hosting an interfaith event on June 12 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

 

7.         ADJOURNMENT

The meeting closed at 9:00 p.m.