SIXTH MEETING OF THE

RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR 2009

TOWN OF MARKHAM

Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre

Monday, October 5, 2009
7:15 PM – 9:00 PM

MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Committee Councillor L. Kanapathi Jobson Easow, Chair Aisha Manji Winnie Wales Vilvan Gunasingham Theresa Coulter Staff Laura Gold, Committee Clerk Cheryl McConney -Wilson, Diversity Specialist

Regrets Rochelle Bowmile, Vice Chair Kevin Koo Javaid Khan

The Race Relations Committee convened at 7:30 PM with Jobson Easow presiding as Chair.

1. CHAIRS OPENING REMARKS

Jobson Easow, Chair, welcomed the Committee to the sixth meeting of the Race Relations Committee.

2. MINUTES OF THE RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Moved by Vilvan Gunasingham

Seconded by Aisha Manji

That the September 14, 2009 Race Relations Committee Minutes be adopted as presented.

3. CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

There were no changes or additions to the Agenda.

4. HUMAN RESOURCE UPDATE

Cheryl McConney-Wilson, Diversity Specialist, spoke about the York Region Film Festival. The Festival will focus on challenges that York Region youth experience. She provided the example of a youth’s experience being poor or homeless in York Region. The Film Festival will have a showing in Markham, and in Georgina.

Ms. McConney advised that the Town has officially created a Seniors Advisory Committee, noting that Members still need to be appointed to the Committee.

Ms. McConney reported that the Diversity Plan will likely not be presented at the October 26 General Committee (the targeted meeting date), although she noted that the Plan will soon be ready to be presented to the Committee. The Committee advised it would like to review the Diversity Plan several days in advance prior to it being presented to the Committee, and requested that it be circulated to the Members by email in advance of being presented at the meeting.

Ms. McConney advised that the Diversity Plan was created to reflect the UNESCO framework, and to provide a number of recommendations. She noted that the next step is to engage the community regarding the Diversity Plan. The Committee discussed how the media could be made aware of the Diversity Plan’s formal establishment and approval. The suggestion of tying the approval/implementation of the Diversity Plan to an event was made.

5. SUB COMMITTEE

5. A. EVENT SUB- COMMITTEE

There was a discussion about the 2010 Many Faces of Markham event at the Event Sub-Committee meeting held prior to the regularly scheduled meeting (please see the attached October 5, 2009 Event Sub-Committee Minutes).

5. B. POLICY SUB-COMMITTEE

The Committee discussed increasing community awareness regarding the existence of the Race Relations Committee, and its mandate.

The Committee discussed calling Ward Councillors to inquire if they had any race relation issues in their Ward, and inquiring what type of a role they would like the Race Relations Committee to play within the community. It was noted that the Councillors were surveyed regarding their ideas/ concerns with respect to diversity (in the Town of Markham) in the process of creating the Diversity Plan. The Committee agreed that the Diversity Plan addressed more systemic issues and that the role of the Race Relations Committee is to advise on smaller race relation issues.

The Committee discussed doing more educational outreach. Some ideas included the following: 1) having a booth with an interactive activity at an event like the Milliken Mills Children’s Festival; and 2) hosting an event like the “Taste of Markham” (a proposed event featuring different types of foods).

The Committee requested that name tags be created for the Committee Members to wear at the New Citizenship Ceremony.

6. NEW BUSINESS

6. A. CHRISTMAS PARTY

The Chair requested that the Committee start thinking about its annual Christmas party. The Committee agreed that it should select a restaurant in Markham with a diverse type of food. This item was requested to be added to the next agenda.

6. B. ACCESSIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE

The Chair explained that under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act the Province of Ontario established the Accessible Customer Service Standards that were created to ensure people with disability receive the same level of customer service as everyone else. The law requires that both public and private organizations in Ontario identify and remove barriers to accessible customer service. The law further requires that all Advisory Committee Members must be trained on how to provide accessible customer service. In order to be in compliance with the legislation each Member will be provided with the Accessible Customer Service Guide. Members shall read the guide and sign the sheet that they have received and read the Accessible Customer Service Guide.

7. NEXT MEETING DATE

The next meeting of the Race Relations Committee will be held on November 2, 2009 at 7:15 PM in the Ontario Room.

8. AJOURNMENT

The sixth meeting of the Race Relations Committee adjourned at 8:30 PM.