HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 1, 2007
Clfft 0# Minutes
PICKERING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ON RACE RELATIONS & EQUITY
February 1, 2007
7:00 pm
Main Committee Room
Attendees: Councillor David Pickles - Chair
Kirk Mark, Community Appointee
Sethu Madhavan, Community Appointee
Joanne Guindon, Durham Distrcit Catholic School Board
Adrian Rampersad, Dunbarton High School
Siobhan Saravanamuttu, Dunbarton High School
Mariyah Gonzales, Dunbarton High School
Constable Paul Hawrychuk, Durham Regional Police Services
Sharon Singh, Pine Ridge Secondary School
Ansar Siddiqui, Pine Ridge Secondary School
Marisa Carpino, City of Pickering
Linda Roberts, Recording Secretary
Absent: Tanya Malika Foster
Regrets: Fred Gibson, Pickering Carib Canadian Cultural Association
Philip Howard, Durham District School Board
Margaret Lazarus, Valley Farm Public School
ec ntro uc
Councillor Pickles welcomed members and guests and invited
I everyone to introduce themselves and share their views.
I Councillor Pickles noted that we would always try to adjourn by
I 9:00 pm to allow for students requiring rides.
Councillor Pickles gave a brief overview of the role of committee.
Marisa went over the general roles, terms and structure of the
committee. She briefly outlined the upcoming cultural events.
Councillor Pickles informed the committee on additional
upcoming events and stated that he would provide information on
these events in order for the members to attend.
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Kirk Mark suggested that we add another item to the agenda:
Review and approval of agenda
He mentioned that it was great to see the student representation.
He commented on how the community is evlolving
Sethu Madhaven asked if anything was being done to integrate
the different communities and expose them to the various
cultures. Councillor Pickles indicated that a number of
communities are in fact working together, mostly in the area of
artistic events.
Constable Paul Hawrychuk also agreed it was nice to have the
young people involved and stressed the importance of this.
Council Pickles indicated that he would like to encourage the
public to attend our meetings.
Marisa distributed copies of the November 2,2006 minutes.
Minutes of the November 2,2006 meeting were approved.
Marisa outlined the details of the writing contest and passed
around the flyer. "In Your Words" was the selected statement for
the contest. The deadline to submit is February 5th. Winners are
invited to the forum. Guest speaker has been confirmed.
Last year's event was a success with over 400 submissions.
Joanne mentioned there was not much feedback from the school
boa rd.
The winning entry will be showcased on the display board,
published in the newspaper, and on the webite.
Kirk Mark suggested we look into the idea of catalouging the
essays. Possibly a percentage of the top entries could be put in
the book, the writer could be published. This would become part
of our record. He felt it was important to the students to see
value through publication. He felt it was important to young
people to have a record, and we could incorporate this as part O..f.J
our mandate. It was confirmed that we do have approval to
publish names through our policy. _______
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Marisa/Linda to add
to future meeting
agendas
Kirk to bring
examples to next
meeting
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Councillor Pickles agreed it was a good idea, will check with his
contact on the possibility of having such a book put together.
Students thoughts on this: good idea, could increase
participation.
Constable Hawyrchuck suggested the possibility of having the
essays in the leisure guide, which gets produced four times per
year.
Kirk Mark questioned whether there was a specific website for the
committee, where there could be a chance for the youth to
express their concerns, suggestions and comments.
Discussion ensued on possibly having a separate page or a link
to the existing site.
Councillor Pickles suggested to the youth that they post their own
thoughts to get it rolling, and come back with a possible draft to
the next meeting. Suggested we could launch this on March 21?
Maybe the students could speak at the launch.
Herita
Marissa provided schedules to date. She went over the groups
who will be pariticpating at the event, and indicated that all
display booths are now full, however, there will be space in the
hall to accommodate any further requests. There is a good cross
section of performers scheduled for the event.
Councillor Pickles requested volunteers to provide coverage for
the booth. Kirk Mark will attend from 1 - 3 pm and Sethu is
scheduled for 11:45 a.m for an hour.
Councillor Pickles asked about additional performers. Marisa
I indicated they would be added on to the end of the day.
Councillor Pickles also inquired about electricity needs for the day
of the event. Could we confirm with the groups ahead of time as
to their particular needs, i.e. microphones, etc. Marisa confirmed
that all is taken care of.
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Councillor Pickles to
check with his
contact
Marisa to look into
Student
representatives to
prepare a draft for
next
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Councillor Pickles outlined the event to be held in the Pickering
Museum Village in Greenwood on Saturday, June 9th.
He advised the admission was free, so hopefully this would
attract more people. Last year's event was excellent
Asked for volunteers to participate on the day of the event as well
as to act as liason/co-chair on the committee which meets once a
month from now until June to assist in the planning. Councillor
Pickles would make available a list of meetings so members
could attend.
7. Other Business
Councillor Pickles indicated that the City of Pickering had
proclaimed February as Black History Month and asked for an
update on the Committees work to proclaim "March 21st,
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination".
Marisa had planned
to complete in early
February as per
usual.
Kirk Mark
· mentioned February is Black History Month
· passed around a copy of Don Williams book "Who's Who
in Back Canada". Suggested this as a great reference tool
for organizations
· listed some upcoming events;
. Start of Chinese New Year
· 2007 World Stage - Culture & History - this year is the
bicentennial of the abolition of slave act combined with the
50th Anniversay of the Independence of Guyana
· Speaker at U of T - Sylvia Wayter's Anit-Racist education
· National Conference on Race & Ethnicity to be held in San
Franciso, CA from May 29th - June 2,2007
Councillor Pickles talked about the Community Survey. He
outlined the plan for the survey and feedback from the community
to assemble a data base. Asked for participation from committee
members.
Councillor Pickles discussed the fact that we would be submitting
an Annual Report
Councillor Pickles requested clarification on whether letters of ~inda to confirm
appreciation h_ad gone out to the previous member~___________~rmat
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Everyone in agreement to continue to hold meetings on the first
Thursda of each month.
Linda to confirm
Meeting Adjourned: 9:00 pm
Copy: Chief Administrative Officer
City Clerk
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