HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-09Clarftwn
Clarington Anti -Black Racism Subcommittee
Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 6:00 PM
Microsoft Teams
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Present:
Councillor Ron Hooper
Jasmyne Julien
Meera McDonald
Lauren Reyes -Grange
Rochelle Thomas
Angela Todd -Anderson
Also Present:
Erica Mittag - Municipality of Clarington
Samantha Li - Clarington Public Library
Regrets:
Hawa Mire
Rachel Traore
1. Land Acknowledgement
Members observed a moment of reflection in respect of the 215 children found at the
former residential school in Kamloops, BC as well as the family members murdered in a
hate attack in London, ON.
Meera McDonald shared the Land Acknowledgement Statement.
2. Welcome & Introductions
Members provided introductions and welcomed Samantha Li who will be representing
the Clarington Public Library on the Subcommittee.
3. Declarations of Interest
Erica explained situations when a Member may express a Declaration of Interest. This
will be a standing agenda item.
4. Review of Previous Meeting Notes
The notes of the meeting of May 12, 2021 were reviewed.
If anyone has contact information for local groups for possible collaboration, share the
information with Erica. The list of organizations is being compiled.
5. Review of Agenda
No updates were received for the agenda.
6. Subcommittee Co -Chairs
To provide shared leadership, the Diversity Advisory Committee voted to change the
Terms of Reference for the Anti -Black Racism Subcommittee to allow for Co -Chairs.
One of the Co -Chairs will be a voting member of the Diversity Advisory Committee.
The other Co -Chair will be a member of the Anti -Black Racism Subcommittee.
Meera asked if there were any nominees from the group as Co -Chair. Rochelle
nominated herself. Lauren nominated Rochelle. There were no other nominations.
Rochelle was proclaimed Co -Chair of the Anti -Black Racism Subcommittee. Meera
remains Co -Chair as well as the representative from the Diversity Advisory Committee.
Members congratulated Rochelle.
7. Updates from Clarington Public Library
In recognition of National Indigenous History Month in June, the Library partnered with
many other organizations to offer Durham Indigenous Voices Discussion Series. There
are 4 sessions beginning June 17 until August 19. Register for free.
Samantha also shared that the Library has partnered with the Region of Durham to
establish an Outreach Community Hub. Branches will have an Ontario Works
Outreach Worker on site during scheduled times to provide connections to a variety of
social services supports and resources.
8. Resident Concern
Erica shared a concern that was brought forward by a resident to Councillor Anderson.
The incident involved racism directed at the resident by an alleged member of the Port
of Newcastle Neighbourhood Watch group.
Members suggested Councillor Anderson could reach out to the resident to ensure they
are safe; do they need any additional resources or supports, have any further incidents
occurred and were they able to report the situation to the Durham Regional Police?
Members discussed and questioned the oversight of the program and its volunteers.
What training do the volunteers receive (i.e. unconscious bias)? What is the process
for accepting a volunteer to the program? It was suggested that the Diversity Advisory
Committee could connect with Inspector Jeff Haskins to follow up on their concerns.
This will be shared for discussion and follow up by the Diversity Advisory Committee at
their meeting June 24.
9. Anti -Racism Policy and Strategy
Meera advised the development of an anti -racism policy was approved by Council. The
draft version will be shared with Clarington's Diversity and Inclusion Staff Team for
review and input from a staff perspective.
The slides for the draft anti -racism strategy will be shared with the group for review prior
to our next meeting.
10. Meeting during Summer Months
Members discussed and felt there was ongoing work that would warrant a meeting
during the summer months. A date of Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. was the
date chosen for this meeting. An August meeting date will be assessed at that time.
The next regularly scheduled meeting will be September 8, 2021.
Next meeting: Wednesday, July 28, 6:00 p.m.
Virtually — Microsoft Teams
Action Item Description
Who?
Notes / Follow up
Regional connection and collaboration
Erica
Erica to create a database
with similar groups.
of contacts for regional
committees and
grassroots organizations
Investigate partnerships for Business
Erica
Completed and shared
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