FOURTH MEETING OF THE

RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR 2008

TOWN OF MARKHAM

Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre

Monday, April 7, 2008 – 7:30 p.m.

MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Committee Jobson Easow, Chair Rochelle Bowmile, Vice Chair Heather Christian-Simmonds Vilvan Gunasingham Theresa Coulter Winnie Wales Councillor L. Kanapathi June Veecock Nisha Mehta Javaid Khan Staff Laura Gold, Committee Clerk Guests Tahmena Bokhari, Diversity Coordinator Maureen Brown, Diversity Consultant, Diversity Trainers Plus

Regrets Kevin Koo Aisha Manji Gordon To Regional Councillor T. Wong Sharon Laing, Director of Human Resources

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

1. CHAIRS OPENING REMARKS

Jobson Easow, Chair, welcomed Tahmena Bokhari, Diversity Coordinator, and Maureen Brown, Diversity Consultant, Diversity Trainers Plus. The Members briefly introduced themselves.

2. MINUTES OF THE MARCH 3, 2008 MEETING OF THE RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE HELD IN 2008

The attendance was amended to reflect Javaid Khan under regrets.

Moved by: ViLVAN GUNASINGHAM

Seconded by: RACHELLE BOWMILE

“That the Minutes of the Town of Markham Race Relations Committee meeting held on March 3, 2008 be adopted as amended”.

CARRIED

3. SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

a) Events

Jobson Easow, Chair, reminded the Committee of the April 12, 2008 “Many Face of Markham Event” and encouraged all Committee Members to attend. Rochelle Bowmile, Vice-Chair, distributed 2 free tickets per Committee Member. She advised Committee Members that additional tickets can be purchased from Information Markham for $5.00. The Committee commended the Event Sub-Committee for its hard work in executing the event.

4. ORIENTATION PACKAGES FOR NEW MEMBERS

Laura Gold, Committee Clerk, distributed orientation packages to the new Committee Members. Ms. Gold was asked to distribute Committee contact information to all Committee Members.

5. DIVERSITY FOCUS GROUP

Tahmena Bokhari, Diversity Coordinator, and Maureen Brown, Diversity Consultant, Diversity Trainers Plus, were in attendance to conduct a focus group on diversity. Ms. Bokhari explained the Town is in the process of creating a Diversity Action Plan. She advised the Committee the Town has formed a Diversity Advisory Committee to oversee this initiative. She also noted the Town is working in partnership with the Maytree Foundation to ensure equal representation on its boards and committees. Ms. Bokhari spoke about the importance of creating a Diversity Action Plan for the Town of Markham, explaining that (65.4%) of Markham residents are foreign born, more than any other municipality in Canada. She noted the majority of foreign born residents come from China, India, and Sri Lanka.

6. SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES (CONTINUED)

b) Policy

The Committee requested that a list of members for both the Policy Sub-Committee and the Event Sub-Committee be provided at the next meeting. Councillor Logan Kanapathi requested that Chairs be appointed to both the Event Sub-Committee and Policy Sub- Committee. The following Committee Members joined the Policy Sub-Committee:

· Councillor L. Kanapathi

· Nisha Mehta

· Javaid Khan

Nisha Mehta noted she would be resigning from the Event Sub-Committee in order to join the Policy Sub-Committee. The next meeting of the Policy Sub-Committee will be on May 5, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the Ontario Room.

7. UNESCO’S COALITION OF MUNICIPALITIES
AGAINST RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

8. BRAINSTORMING/VISIONING SESSION

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

9. OTHER BUSINESS

The Committee inquired about having refreshments served at Markham Race Relations Committee meetings.

10. ADJOURNMENT

The Markham Race Relations Committee meeting adjourned at 9:05 PM.