THIRD MEETING OF THE

RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR 2008

TOWN OF MARKHAM

Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre

Monday, March 3, 2008 – 7:30 p.m.

MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Committee Jobson Easow, Chair Rochelle Bowmile, Vice Chair Heather Christian-Simmonds Vilvan Gunasingham Aisha Manji Theresa Coulter Winnie Wales Councillor L. Kanapathi Regional Councillor T. Wong June Veecock Staff Laura Gold, Committee Clerk Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resources

Regrets Kevin Koo Gordon To Nisha Mehta Javaid Khan

The third meeting of the Markham Race Relations Committee in 2008 convened at 7:35 PM with Jobson Easow presiding as Chair.

1. CHAIR OPENING REMARKS

The Chair welcomed the new Committee Members, and guest speakers Dan Leinwand, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Citizen and Immigration, and Karen Wilson, from the Constituency Office of the Honorable Michael Chan, Minister of Citizen and Immigration. The Committee Members briefly introduced themselves.

2. PRESENTATION

Dan Leinwand, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Citizen and Immigration, provided a presentation on Bill 124 and fair access to employment for foreign trained workers. He advised the Committee that the Town of Markham has the second highest percentage of residents born outside of Canada (56.5%) in the country and the largest percentage of residents with mother tongues other than English or French (57.4%) in Canada. He also indicated 40% of immigrants have a university degree and 10% have college diploma.

Mr. Leinwand, explained the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 legalizes fair access to regulated professions by legally obligating professional associations to adopt transparent polices and entrance guidelines. He explained the Office of the Fairness Commissioner was established to enforce the Act and Global Experience Ontario was created to provide a service centre where immigrants can obtain information pertaining to regulated professions.

Mr. Leinwand explained the Provincial and Federal roles in regards to immigration. He spoke about the Municipal Immigration Committee, which was created to consult local governments on immigration and integration issues impacting municipalities. He also informed the Committee that municipal profiles have been posted on the Citizen and Immigration website to help immigrants prior to coming to Ontario make decisions regarding where they would like to reside. He spoke about several Provincial programs including newcomer settlement programs, language programs, labour market integration programs, and services for immigrants opening businesses. He briefly spoke about the Local Immigration Partnership, a partnership opportunity that provides local coordination and integration of settlement services. Regional Councillor Tony Wong advised the Committee the Region of York will be submitting a proposal for the Local Immigration Partnership.

3. MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 4, 2008 MEETING OF THE RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE HELD IN 2008

Moved by: ViLVAN GUNASINGHAM

Seconded by: AISHA MANJI

“That the Minutes of the Town of Markham Race Relations Committee meeting held on February 8, 2008 be adopted”.

CARRIED

4. UNESCO’S COALITION OF MUNICIPALITIES AGAINST RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

5. MAYTREE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP

There was a brief discussion on the “Maytree Scholarship for Protected Persons or Landed Immigrants who were Protected Persons”. The Committee Members agreed they would promote the Maytree Foundation Scholarship within their own communities.

5. SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

a) Event Sub-Committee -

Rochelle Bowman, Vice-Chair, advised the new Committee Members that the “Many Faces of Markham” event will be on April 13, 2008 at 2:30 PM at Markham Theatre and provided a brief overview of the event. She indicated it is a cultural event that includes an art and writing contest, a keynote speaker, and school and community performances. The Keynote speaker for this years event will be Page Pedlar author of Who Will Cuddle Them When They Sleep, a book she wrote when she was seven which asks people to save AIDS orphans in Africa by helping fund AIDS orphanages. Ms. Pedlar will present her book with Glenn Marias, Musician, who will play the guitar as she speaks. Jobson Easow, Chair, made special note that this is the 10^th anniversary of event.

Ms. Bowman distributed draft promotional event posters for Committee Members to view. She advised the Committee that the contest winners have been selected for both the art and writing contests and letters would be sent out to the winners. The contest participants were Markham students from grades 1-12. Ms. Bowman advised the Committee tickets will be provided to students taking part in the event and to contest winners at no cost (3 tickets per student). The remainder of the tickets will be for sale at Information Markham for $5.00.

B) Policy SuB-COMMITTEE

The Policy Sub-Committee will meet sometime in April to discuss UNESCO’s Coalition of Municipalities Against Racial Discrimination, and material provided from the Province and the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) on BILL 124 and fair access to employment for foreign trained workers. The Policy Sub-Committee would like to clarify its focus and take a more proactive role. The date of the next Policy Sub-Committee meeting will be confirmed at the April meeting of the Markham Race Relations Committee.

C) POLICY SUB-COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

The following appointments were made to the Markham Race Relations Sub Committees:

Event Sub –Committee

• Winnie Wales

Policy Sub-Committee

· Theresa Coulter

· June Veecock

· Aisha Manji

Rochelle Bowmille, Vice-Chair, advised the Committee she will also be joining the Policy Sub-Committee upon the completion of the Many Faces of Markham event. This decision was made jointly by the Chair and Vice-Chair in order to assure strong leadership on both the Event and Policy Sub-Committees.

Laura Gold, Committee Clerk, was asked to distribute by email the Markham Race Relations Committee Terms of Reference to Committee Members and provide new Committee Members with an orientation package. Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resources, and Laura Gold, Committee Clerk, will work together to create an orientation package for new members.

D) COMMITTEE DIRECTION/MANDATE

The Committee agreed they have obtained enough information on services and programs pertaining to Bill 124 and fair access to employment for foreign trained workers, and UNESCO’s Coalition of Municipalities against Racial Discrimination. They believe the next step is to decide the role the Committee can play in regards to these areas of interest. Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resources, recommended the Committee hold a visioning session to help determine the future direction of the Committee and asked that this item be added to the next agenda.

Committee Members felt its role may involve promoting existing services to Markham residents or employers. Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resources, advised the Committee immigration settlement is a joint responsibility between the Region of York and the Town. She thought the Committee should take this into consideration when deciding its future direction.

6. NEW BUSINESS

B) TOWN OF MARKHAM UPDATE

Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resources, provided an update of the following upcoming events:

1) 20 Journeys - A Visual Essay of the Immigrant Experience –

An exhibit presented by TRIEC, consisting of 20 journeys of immigrants that have found success through local employers and organizations will be displayed in the Great Hall of the civic centre from March 17 – 20, 2008.

2) Cross-Cultural Communication & Mentoring (Lionel Laroche, Multi Business Solutions) -

A workshop providing tips to Town staff on providing feedback in a multicultural environment, avoiding misunderstanding between employees of diverse cultural backgrounds, and managing employee relations in a diverse workforce is forthcoming.

7. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Race Relations Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 7, 2008, at 7:30 PM. in the Ontario Room.

8. ADJOURNMENT

The Markham Race Relations Committee meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.