Report to: General Committee                                                    Report Date: January 14, 2009

 

 

 

SUBJECT:                          United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism Declaration (CMARD)

PREPARED BY:               Nadine Daley, Ext. 3225

                                            Inclusivity Advisory Committee

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

  1. That the presentation “UNESCO-CMARD” be received; and

 

  1. That the Town of Markham join the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism (CMARD); and

 

  1. That the strategic priority of  Diversity as set forth by Council be recognized as the Town’s response to CMARD; and

 

  1. That the Town agrees to act as a “thought leader” by sharing outcomes and best practices in the area with other organizations including York Region; and

 

  1. That the Town’s actions and activities related to its membership in CMARD be communicated through the Town’s internet site.

 

 

  1. That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable.

 

1. Purpose       2. Background         3. Discussion        4. Financial      5. Others (Strategic, Affected Units)       6. Attachment(s)

 

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to clarify the requirements of the CMARD initiative, establish the activities required to become a member and recommend membership in the initiative.

 

BACKGROUND:

The Town of Markham’s Race Relations Committee has recommended to Council that the Town become a signatory to the CMARD initiative. Council has requested staff provide information and recommendations regarding (a) whether or not the Town should join, (b) what commitments the Town should make (c) how the Town would implement such an initiative and (d) the resource implications of the aforementioned.

 

Thirty-one Canadian municipalities have signed the CMARD Declaration, sponsored by UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and coordinated in Canada by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO in partnership with organizations such as the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the Canadian Association of Human Rights Agencies and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Similar coalitions are being formed around the world, including more than 40 European cities. In signing the Declaration the Canadian municipalities have agreed to ten (10) key commitments grouped in (3) three categories:

 

Category 1: Act as guardians of the public interest by:

1)       Increasing vigilance against systemic and individual racism and discrimination

2)       Monitoring racism and discrimination in the community more broadly as well as municipal actions taken to address racism and discrimination.

3)       Informing and support individuals who experience racism and discrimination.

4)       Supporting policing services in their efforts to be exemplary institutions in combating racism and discrimination. (Regional responsibility)

 

Category 2: The municipality as an organization in the fulfilment of Human Rights by:

5)       Providing equal opportunities as a municipal employer, service provider and contractor.

6)       Supporting measures to promote equity in the labour market.

7)       Supporting measures to challenge racism and discrimination and promote diversity and equal opportunity in housing. (Regional responsibility)

 

Category 3: The municipality as a community sharing responsibility for respecting and promoting Human Rights and diversity by:

8)       Involving citizens by giving them a voice in anti-racism initiatives and decision-making.

9)        Supporting measures to challenge racism and discrimination and promote diversity and equal opportunity in the education sector and in other forms of learning.

10)    Promoting respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity and the inclusion of Aboriginal and racialized communities into the cultural fabric of the municipality.

 

While recognizing Canada’s “exceptional system of human rights laws and ratified international treaties”, CMARD points out that “racism and discrimination continue to perpetuate the historical disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal peoples and other diverse groups, many of whom are members of Canada’s most economically and socially marginalized communities.” The Coalition believes that since municipalities “function at the most practical level and are most involved in the lives their residents”, they bear a particular responsibility to develop and implement policies, programs and strategies that will enable them to take “meaningful action toward eliminating racism and discrimination.”

 

Defining Racism and Discrimination

 

A 1975 UN Convention defines racism as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life”. Racism and discrimination whether direct, systemic, institutional or reflected in the culture of an organization or municipality, creates barriers to full participation—in other words exclusion. In guiding the development of the Town’s Diversity Action Plan the Town’s Inclusivity Advisory Committee has adopted Health Nexus’s (Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse) definition of an inclusive environment as one where “people both feel and experience the reality of belonging and are thus able to fulfill their potential”. Racism therefore and the commitment to combat discrimination is an essential element in an inclusive environment.

 

Canadian Municipal Responses to the ten CMARD Commitments

 

CMARD allows signatories a wide scope in deciding what actions to take under the Declaration, depending on their situation and resources. In 2007 the Canadian Commission for UNESCO sent a questionnaire to CMARD signatories, enquiring about the commitments they have made and how they are implementing these commitments. Sixteen municipalities responded. Based on a preliminary draft synthesis of the survey results there is a wide array of participation across membership municipalities, in common to all is a public political declaration to undertake the ten tenants of the CMRD agreement.  Further investigation through enquiries to the Ontario Human Rights Commission; reports on web sites of cities such as Windsor and Edmonton; and, on discussion with Toronto’s Access and Equity Office, municipalities confirm the wide divergence in the way each municipality interprets the Declaration. It is valuable to note that while the Declaration requires municipalities to make public their activities, it does not require them to report or be accountable to UNESCO. Our preliminary enquiries suggest, however, that while some—like Edmonton and Windsor—have launched full-scale initiatives, others have apparently just signed the Declaration and have not been heard from since.

 

While cities like Edmonton have engaged in large scale initiatives such as significant policy development and cyclical community forums, these are not mandatory. The CMARD guidelines allow a municipality to focus more on selected commitments and overall to develop plans in keeping with their “unique circumstances, and within (their) means and jurisdiction.” While responsibility for education, policing and housing might lie outside a municipality’s jurisdiction, for example, CMARD urges those municipalities to support other measures to ensure these services are free of racism and discrimination.

 

The following sample commitments and activities are either recommended by CMARD or are being pursued by signatory municipalities, as indicated[1].

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Staff have considered the implications and requirements of joining the Coalition, specifically:

 

a)      That Council has proactively made a commitment to Diversity and Sustainability as strategic priorities and has established action plans to effect change;

b)      To date staff have already undertaken several activities to advance the Diversity action plans;

c)      The request to join CMARD came from the Race Relations Committee, whose membership includes the voice of visible minority[2] communities in Markham. Therefore it could be seen as a reasonable expectation that Council will endorse the request;

 

And therefore consider the Town well positioned to accept the commitments as outlined by CMARD.

 

 

 

 

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE

Joining CMARD will not require additional funding beyond that which has already been requested as part of the overall Diversity initiative.  Proposed funding for $50,000 has been included in the 2009 Capital Budget to provide Cultural Competence training for all Town staff. This request can be directly linked with CMARD commitment 3-10 “Promoting respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity and the inclusion of Aboriginal and racialized communities into the cultural fabric of the municipality.” In the 2010 budget process additional funds will be requested to allow for implementation of specific activities identified in the Diversity Action Plan. Staff will provide on-going reports to Council on the Diversity initiative and resource implications.

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

Membership in the CMARD initiative aligns with the Diversity priority set out by Council.  In addition, membership supports the Sustainability agenda by furthering the commitment to the Town and its citizens.

 

DEPARTMENTS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Inclusivity Advisory Committee

 

RECOMMENDED

                            BY:    ________________________          ________________________

                                      Nadine Daley, Manager                       Sharon Laing, Director

                                      Human Resources                               Human Resources

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix 1

 


[1] See Appendix 1

[2] The term Stats Can uses to describe people who are “non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour”. The UN has reprimanded Canada for its use of the term, however, at the federal level it has not been changed.