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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-09-12Clarington If this information is required in an alternate format, please contact the IDEA Officer at 905-623-3379 ext. 2563. Clarington Diversity Advisory Committee Minutes — Sept. 12, 2024 Microsoft Teams Need help? Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 241 379 956 663 Passcode: Crdbfd Present: Vincent Wong Tenzin Shomar Pranay Gunti Ron Hooper Dione Valentine Bev Neblett Rochelle Thomas Councillor Anderson Regrets: Lauren Reyes -Grange Joe Solway Absent: Aaliyah Ruddock Also Present: Pinder DaSilva, Municipality of Clarington Donnalee Smith, CLMA 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:01 pm 2. Land Acknowledgement Land Acknowledgement read by T. Shomar The Municipality of Clarington is situated within the traditional and treaty territory of the Mississaugas and Chippewas of the Anishinabeg, known today as the Williams Treaties First Nations. Ourwork on these lands acknowledges theirthat resilience and their longstanding contributions to the area now known as the Municipality of Clarington. 3. Declaration of Interest There were no disclosures of interest stated at this meeting. 4. Review and approval of Agenda Moved by R. Thomas; seconded byV. Wong That the agenda for Sept. 12, 2024, be approved. Carried Clarington 5. Adoption of Minutes Moved by R. Hooper, seconded by B. Neblett That the meeting minutes for June 13, 2024, and August 12, 2024, be approved. Carried 6. Guest Speaker— DRPS — Staff Sergeant Dena Peden introduced members of the DRPS team: • Fiona Phillips-A/Sgt— Equity and Inclusion Division • Angela Adu - Supervisor Talent Management, Human Resources • Katie Berti - Recruiting Supervisor, Human Resources • Cst Aadil Chohan - Recruiting Unit, Human Resources • D/Sgt David Palmer - Criminal Investigative Bureau DRPS staff presented on hiring and recruitment processes, outreach and network support for marginalized individuals in our community Recently have seen a shift whereby the need to hire is still quite high but there has been a significant decrease in the number of applications being received — used to receive around 1,500 applications/year but now see around 500-6— applications annually. DRPS hires within 2 streams — Sworn/officer positions and Civilian positions Sworn positions - usually run 3-4 classes per year hire and hire 15-20 people/class Have experienced a major increase in civilian hires (911, administrative roles, IT, Forensics, summer students etc.) Made great efforts to make recruitment process more inclusive — questions are more inclusive, no longer need first aid, can do shuttle run more than once, can select a psychologist of their own choosing (there are 6 psychologists to choose from). Also doing a lot of work to provide support to those who weren't successful to help them for the next round. Hosted their 8th annual Women's Symposium and recruited a number of individuals from the symposium New initiatives — civilians and sworn members act as mentors to attract marginalized candidates. Hoping that formalizing the support from an early part of the process will help increase and diversify recruitment Recently hired consultant to assess internal progression/promotion process. Now moving towards a weighted promotional process based on merit. Internal Support Network (ISN) is a new initiative that is still in the infancy stage but has strong support from leaders to create a strong internal support network. Starting with a Black ISN and Women's ISN as they are both areas of priority Self -disclosure demographic survey that all applicants are able to fill out which is helping to increase their knowledge around applicant demographics. Clarington Black police officer recruitment is growing slowly; still a lot of stigmas around policing within the Black community but slowly making progress 7. Racist Graffiti at Newcastle Pickleball Court Nothing has been solved yet. T. Shomar shared that there has certainly seen a rise of incidents such as these in Clarington which is unfortunate. Highlights why committees such as the Diversity Advisory Committee exist. Members asked if the committee would be permitted to issue a statement, if this was to happen again. P. DaSilva explained likely will need a motion to make the formal statement and instead could look into issuing a quote from the Chair of CDAC or CABRTF that can be included within the Mayor's statement. 8. CDAC Membership Discussion CDAC member has missed 3 meetings in a row and has not responded to any communication requests from P. DaSilva in quite a few months. The Committee would like to put a motion forward to remove the member and recruit a new member to join the committee. Councillor Anderson was present for the meeting and will pull the Motion for the Sept. 23rd Council meeting. Moved by D. Valentine; seconded by R. Thomas In accordance with Section 5.9 of the Clarington Diversity Advisory Committee Terms of Reference, the committee requests that Council remove committee member, A. Ruddock, from CDAC due to missing 3 consecutive meetings without any communication with CDAC staff liaison or CDAC Chair. 9. Additional Rainbow Crosswalk initiative P. DaSilva shared that there have been conversations with some Council and community members about adding another Rainbow Crosswalks in Clarington in 2025. Committee members agreed on the initiative and wanted reassurance that the community would be engaged/consulted in finding the right location. P. DaSilva indicated she would work with the Comm's team to ensure community engagement. Moved by B. Neblett; seconded V. Wong That Council endorses and directs staff to explore the cost and process for an additional Rainbow Crosswalk to be implemented in Clarington in 2025. Carried Clarington 10. Quite Space Design — SBRC Feedback has already been provided by P. DaSilva and the Accessibility Coordinator as the deadline had passed prior to this meeting. 11. Council Update A motion to Regional Council asking DRPS to set up an anti -hate crime unit given that all kinds of anti -racism hate is on the rise and it is seeping into our community. This is a topic that needs to be taken very seriously and requires DRPS attention. Asked if it is possible to change the process of Council selecting new members to CDAC to ensure knowledgeable and passionate individuals are selected. P. DaSilva explained that there was a different process followed recently by CDAC when selecting and appointing the latest CABRTF member. This process will be provided to Council the next time they are selecting a new CDAC member— includes a skills matrix and a summary of gaps that may exist for the current committee. Asked if it's possible to have staff guest speakers who can come in quarterly and provide some information on some of the initiatives that the organizations are working on. Committee members also thought it would be interesting to have different staff come in and speak. P. DaSilva advised she will check in with the different departments and provide an update at the next meeting. Other options: Allison Hector -Alexander, Director of Diversity, at the Region as a guest speaker —what is the Region doing regarding D&I and how does it align with what the municipalities are doing? CDCD (Settlement agency for Durham Region) to present some of the trends happening with newcomers. 12. Community updates Capstone Project— P. DaSilva is working with the Accessibility Coordinator and students from Ontario Tech on a Capstone Project -looking at the community services process for collecting feedback on programs and services, including the accessibility and inclusivity of the programs and services. September 30th is National Truth & Reconciliation Day. P. DaSilva shared the activities that Clarington will be involved in: • September 21 st — opening of new outdoor amenities at South Courtice Arena. IDEA and Accessibility will have a table there, including opportunity for the public to tie an orange ribbon on a fence to honour and remember the Survivors of and those who didn't return from residential schools. This initiative will run from Sept 21-30. Clarington • September 23rd — due to the construction at the Cenotaph, the flagpole is still not available to raise Every Child Matters flag. We will take a picture with Council members and staff before the start of the September 23rd Council meeting. • September 26th —training opportunity for staff through Woodland Cultural Centre on Truth and Reconciliation Commission. • September 30th — Clarington is supporting and participating in the City of Pickering TRC event. • September 30th — Clarington will freeze all social media posts and only post items related to TRC for the day. Social Media Campaign The planning is underway. The Videography consultants have been meeting with a number of residents and staff who had expressed an interest to be in the campaign. • Next step is a meeting with them to finalize the story board and narrative. The goal is to launch sometime in November. Social Media Terms of Use • P. DaSilva will send out the new Social Media Terms of Use once it is finalized by Comm's team. The intention is to have a tiered approach to dealing with individuals who engage with Clarington social media in a racist, discriminatory and/or derogatory way. 13. ABR Task Force Update New Task Force member attended and participated in the meeting DRPS presented on their anti -hate work they are doing 14. Other Business P. Gunti shared that there will be a Garba festival this Saturday and Sunday and he will send out the flyer via email to the committee members in case they are interested in attending. Members discussed the option to change the October meeting date from October 10th to 17th to accommodate more members being able to attend. Moved by D. Valentine, seconded by L. Reyes -Grange That the October CDAC meeting be moved from October 10th to October 17th (hybrid). Moved by R. Hooper; seconded by D. Valentine That the Diversity Advisory Committee meeting be adjourned at 8:56 pm. Carried Next Meeting October 17, 2024, at 7 pm via Teams/Hybrid