HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-20-004 - Advancing the City's Work on Equity, Anti-Racism, Indigenous Initiatives and Social Justice IssuesREPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: October 19, 2020
SUBMITTED BY: Michael May, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, ex. 7079
PREPARED BY: Michael May, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, 7079
Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services, ex. 4657
Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services, ex. 7646
WARD (S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT:October 8, 2020
REPORT NO.: CSD-20-004
SUBJECT: Advancing the City’s Work on Equity, Anti-Racism, Indigenous
Initiatives& Social Justice Issues (eg. Homelessness)
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RECOMMENDATION:
That the City advance its work on equity, anti-racism and Indigenous initiatives, as well as other
social justice issues(eg. homelessness),through the creationof a dedicated staff team, as
outlined in CSD-20-004, which will provide senior level leadershipandinternal staff expertise in
theseareas; and that the associated funding for that team be built into the 2021 budget.
BACKGROUND:
Mayor’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
In late 2019, the Mayor’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) was created to support the
achievement of the following priority in the City’s Strategic Plan – “Create a comprehensive Equity,
Diversity and Inclusion Strategy by 2020 to combat systemic barriers to full economic and social
participation in the city.”
The Task Force consists of approximately 30 members of the community, who are demographically
representative of the City’s overall population,and 15 City staff. Councillors Singh and Marsh, as well as
the Mayor are also on the Task Force. The mandate of the Task Force isfocused on four broad areas:
1) broadening community engagement in municipal decision-making – particularly for people who
are traditionally under-represented;
2) improving equitable municipal service deliveryto Kitchener’s diverse population;
3) encouraging, maintaining and promoting a more inclusive workplace and diverse workforceat
the City of Kitchener for both employees and volunteers, and;
4) celebrating the full diversityof the Kitchener community.
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began the Task Force was paused, however, it has now resumed
and is targeting 2021 for completionof its work.
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Alongside the early work of the Task Force, in 2019 the Cityalsoimplemented a number of equity-focused
initiatives, including:
1)providing preliminary EDI awareness training to over 200 City staff.(In 2020, the City engaged
Kike Ojo of KojoInstitute to provide additional training to City Council and to the City’s entire
management team – approx. 150 staff);
2)administering and publicly reporting on the City’s first-ever Workforce Census(intended to
become a regular measurement tool in the years ahead);
3)beginning to collect demographic data on Engage Kitchener surveys as well as applications to
participate on Council advisory committees, and;
4)proceeding with a tender to secure on-demand interpretation support for residents.
City’s Initial Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
In 2019, City Council directed staff to proceed with the implementation of the Truth & Reconciliation Calls
to Action starting with two priorities (COR-19-021):
1)Introduce a territorial acknowledgement at the commencement of City Councilmeetingsto signal
a commitment to responding to the Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action, and to demonstrate
respect for the ongoing relationships we are building; and
2) Implementa training program for staff and Council that will increase Indigenous competency at
an organizational level, resulting in improved customer service and increased capacity of non-
Indigenous staff across the organization to work respectfully and appropriately on Indigenous
initiatives in a municipal context.
Internal capacity building within the City of Kitchener isnowunderway and Indigenous Inter-cultural
competency training was organized in spring 2020 for Council and staff, however, itwas deferred due to
the pandemic and inability to deliver in-person training. Staff areworking with municipal partners to
identify an alternative approach to delivering the training.
In early 2020, the City leveraged a $25,000 donation from the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation
to support the exploration of Indigenous opportunities in the Huron Natural Area (HNA). The project
focuses on understanding Indigenous use of HNA through key focus areas:
Cultural awareness programming and activities; exploring Indigenous education programs, Forest
School initiatives, storytelling through signage and guided walks, etc.
Land-based restoration and stewardship; includes exploring how traditional land-based
Indigenous ecological knowledge can be integrated and utilized to enhance the existing
restoration, stewardship and engagement programs delivered in the park.
Events, ceremony and celebration; includes exploring how the park can function as a space for
Indigenous events and celebrations for both public participation as well as private ceremonies
The HNA initiative was paused in the initial stages of the pandemic and was re-initiated in July with the
completion of the recruitment process and onboarding of an Indigenous Parks Engagement Associate to
support this work.
It is recognized that the initial response to the TRC’s calls to action provide a starting point in the City’s
journey to develop meaningful relationships and work toward reconciliation with local First Nations, Métis
and Inuit.However, a more comprehensive approach to reconciliation is required to address systemic
inequities, racism and to support, celebrate and deliver services to Indigenous Peoples in Kitchener.
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City of Kitchener Housing Strategy
In late 2019, a Housing Strategy Advisory Committee was formed to provide advice on the creation of an
affordable housing strategy for the City of Kitchener. That advisory committee is comprisedof 35
members of the public, the non-profit community, advocates, people with lived experience, the
development communityand academia, as well as municipal, regional and provincial staff. Councillors
Chapman, Michaud, Schnider and Singhare also on the committee.
The Affordable Housing Strategy will be the first time in decades that the City of Kitchener has undertaken
a comprehensive study of affordability across the housing continuum, which includes addressing
homelessness, social, non-market and market housing.
A draft Housing Strategy was presented to Council on August 31, 2020and staff are expecting to present
a final strategy to Council for its consideration in December 2020.The strategy will clearly define what
roles the City of Kitchener should play that are complementary to work of the Region,province and federal
governments, as well asthe non-profit sector and the private sector, to help ensure housing is provided
in the city that meets the needs of existing and future residents.
REPORT:
The City of Kitchener currently does not have any permanent staff dedicated toworking onissues of
equity, anti-racism,Indigenous initiatives, and othersocial justice issues such aspoverty,homelessness
and addictions(eg. consumption and treatment servicessite).As a result, Citystaffhas limited expertise,
or lived experience,in these areasto make informed decisions and recommendations to City Council.
To rectify this lack of staff subject matter expertise and lived experience, the workplan of the EDI Task
Force(first created in 2019 and updated in 2020), as well as the City’s Housing Strategy, both
contemplated making recommendations to City Council in Q3/4 of 2020 to secure dedicated staffing with
expertise in these areas.
Recent events within the local community havesolidified andaccelerated the need to secure thatstaff
expertise on an urgent basis:
On June 3, 2020, local leaders from Black Lives Matter WaterlooRegion, the African Caribbean
Black(ACB)Network, and otherscommunity leaders, organized a very successful Black Lives
Matter march in downtown Kitchener. This march, which was organized in response to the deaths
of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet, served as a
catalyst for urgentcommunity conversations about anti-Black racism.It also demonstrated a
desire from many residents for the City and othersto acturgentlyto dismantlesystemic racism.
On June 20, 2020, members of the local Indigenous communities established the O:se
Kenhionhata:tie Land Back Camp in Victoria Park. One of the demands of the camp organizers
wasthe need tofor local municipalities tocreate paid, permanentIndigenous staff positionsto
engagewith local First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. The camp has received significant support from
community members. In addition, staff have had discussionswith other local Indigenous
community members including the Wellbeing Waterloo Region’s First Nations, Métis, Inuit
Advisory and Advocacy Circle. These discussions have strongly reinforced the need for the City
to secure internal staff expertise to move forward on its obligations under the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (see below).
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In March 2020, as traditional housing supports were being closed as a result of COVID-19 related
public health restrictions, several members of the community came together to create “A Better
Tent City” at Lot 42. This new form of shelter (in Kitchener), which has received significant support
from a broad cross-section of the community, was intended to establish a safer and more stable
alternative to informal encampments for individuals experiencing homelessness. At the same
time, a number of community partners such asthe House of Friendship, Lutherwood, YW
Kitchener-Waterloo, YMCA, ROOFandRay of Hope have had to pivot to utilize new shelter
models.Moving forward, the City and the Region are continuing to engagecommunity members
and partners in creative ways to reimage the shelter system and establish new supportive housing
options in the community.
Increasing Need for Dedicated City Staffing:
There are several factorscontributing to the urgent need for the City to securepermanent and dedicated
internalstaffexpertise to work on these important areas:
1)Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) provided a directive in the form
of Calls to Action to address the harm caused by the residential school system as well as other
systemic barriers and inequities faced by First Nations,Metis andInuit. The Calls to Action
established that municipalities have a responsibility to support reconciliation work directly within the
City’s mandate and to further support interjurisdictional cooperation in the application of Calls to
Action directed at other levels of government, organizations and industries. Within Kitchener there
are many opportunities to work with local First Nations, Metis and Inuit to pursue reconciliation in a
number of areas within the City’s jurisdiction, including: arts and culture, events, heritage, sport,
parks/land development and environment/sustainability.This work could include public art,
Indigenous music and performance, Indigenous sport and inclusion of Indigenous athletes in allforms
of sport, representing Indigenous content in heritage narratives to prevent erasure of Indigenous
societies, collaborating on land stewardship initiatives to promote sustainability, and Indigenous
access to land for the purposes of ceremony, food gathering and community/cultural development.
Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final reportwas released five years ago, City staff
have startedto move forward on the City’s reconciliation obligations, however, with no internal staff
experience dedicated to leading this work, the City has made minimalprogress. Understandably,
members of local Indigenous communities, as well as others in the community, have become
increasinglyfrustrated by the slow progress to implement meaningful action to honour this important
work. Staff have heard clearly and repeatedly from members of local Indigenous communities, that
the City requires permanent, dedicated staff who have direct lived experience, cultural understanding
and an Indigenous world view to identify and implement organizational change in the form of
community engagement, customer service and workplace inclusion, as well as to facilitate
Indigenization opportunities within the community to support the TRC’s intent to restore culture,
promote healing and improve relationships.
2)Ontario Human Rights Code
The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits actions that discriminate based on protected grounds in a
protected social area, which includes accommodation (housing), contracts, employment,
goods/services/facilities, and membership in unions/trade/professional associations. The overall aim
of the Code is the creation of aclimate of dignity, mutual respect, and the ability to meaningfully
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contribute to community. In order to fulfill the legal responsibilities outlined in the Code, the City must
provide resources and services which uphold the expectations of the Code, such as ongoing staff,
volunteer and Council training, policy and process reviews, and the ongoing systematic collection and
reporting of disaggregated demographic data. For the most part, this work is currently not being done
by the Cityin a proactive and coordinator mannerand it will require internal staff expertiseand
additional capacityto effectively move it forward.
3)City’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion(EDI)Workplan(2020/2021)
Working with input from the EDI Task Force, staff have developed an updated EDI workplanfor
2020/2021which balances the need to make fundamental changes to the organization, with the need
to respond to input from members of the local African Caribbean Black(ACB)and Indigenous
communities, as well as many others. That workplan, which will significantly increase staff workload
in these areas, is made up of8 specific bodies of work:
1)Create a new corporate equity and inclusion policyand make changes to existing policies
through an equity lens.
2)Develop a comprehensiveand targetedEDI training program for Council, staff and volunteers.
3)Make changes to recruitment and promotional practices to remove systemic barriers.
4)Establish a strategy to collect and report disaggregated demographic data from staff,
volunteers and service users.
5)Make changes to the City’s corporate communications from an equity-informed perspective,
including how to recognize and celebrate specific events.
6)Develop a new mentorship program for youth living in low-income households.
7)Develop a program to help fund community groups working on issues of equity, anti-racism
and Indigenous initiatives.
8)Create a team of permanent staff to provide municipal leadership on issues equity,anti-racism
and Indigenous initiatives forward within the organization.
In the months ahead, staff will work with members of the Task Force, as well as other subject matter
experts and community partners, to move this work forward. Many of the workplan items listed above
willalsorequire additional community engagement before they are finalized, and in most cases,
brought back to City Council for its consideration.
4)City of Kitchener Housing Strategy
TheCity’sHousing Needs Assessment,presented to Council in January 2020, outlined thefact that
increases to the cost of renting or owning a home have far outpacedthe costs of inflationin recent
years.That Assessment also documented increasing levels of homelessness within the City and the
inability of the existing emergency shelter system to meet the needs of people who were experiencing
homelessnessand challenged by addiction and mental health issues.
In responseto these findings, theCity’sdraft housing strategy, which was presented to City Council
in September 2020, focused on five main themes:
1)Meeting Needs – through the establishment of housing targets within the housing continuum;
2)What the City Can Do – through city policies, incentives and the use of city lands;
3)Working Together –through the development of a collaborative funding strategy, advocacy
and partnerships;
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4)Being Informed/Informing – continue to collect better quality data on housing and
homelessness, regularly update counciland further engage around housing needs within
specific demographic groups of the Kitchener community; and,
5)Implementation/Workplan – develop annual workplans, including budget, timing and
responsibilities and public reporting on progress.
Within those five themes staff anticipate the final strategy willincludearound 20 strategic actions,all
of which will require dedicated staffing to ensure they are effectively implemented (and to ensure the
strategyand recommendationsdoesn’t simply sit on a shelf). In addition to coordinatingthe
implementation of the strategywith other City staff, as well as community and government partners,
there will be a significant body of work requiredthat will come out of this strategy to collect, analyze
and report on housing trends, advocate and respond to federal, provincial and regional initiatives and
to coordinate the implementation of the actions within the housing strategy.
As the City beings to undertake all of these new bodies of work as outlined in its housing strategy, it
will be important that the it utilizes an equity lens. This is also true as the City continues to increase
its focus in other social justice issues, such as poverty, mental health and addictions.
Staffing Team Proposal:
Given the lack of internal staff expertise in these areas,the Corporate Leadership Team believes the
creation of an internal staff team dedicated to this work is a top priority for investment on an urgent basis.
To that end, staff are recommendingthecreation of an Equity, Anti-Racism and Indigenous Initiatives
team that would provide the City and City Council, with dedicated leadership, expertise and senior level
competencies in issues of equity, anti-racism, discrimination, Indigenous initiatives, andother social
justice issues such as homelessness, poverty,mental health and addictions.
Mandate:
The mandate of this dedicated staffteam would be to:
1)Lead the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) in an ongoing process of identifying and eliminating
systemic barriers and inequities, such as those based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation,
age, religious practices, and/or disability.
2)Lead CLTand the Director of Human Resources in the ongoing work of creating a more inclusive
workplace culture and diverse workforce through foundational changes to policies, practices and
accountability mechanisms in place to uphold the City’s obligations under the Ontario Human
Rights code.
3)Work with CLT to enhance the City’s engagement with members of the community who have
been traditionally excludedfrom municipal decision-making and service provision, as well as
community-led organizations and other local municipal governments focused on equitable access
to municipal supports/services.
4)Recommend new municipal programs/initiatives (or changes to/cancellation of existing ones) that
support marginalized members of the community, as well as community organizations focused
on equity, anti-racism, and Indigenous related issues.
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5)Develop, implement and oversee a multi-year evaluation and accountability strategy, inongoing
collaboration with the community,to monitor, measure and publicly report on the City’s work on
equity, anti-racism and Indigenous initiatives in order to identify successes, challenges, gaps and
areas for improvement.
6)Facilitate the development and implementation of City policies/partnerships/programs related to
other socialjustice issues (e.g. homelessness, mental healthand addictions) through an equity
framework.
Instead of working as a standalone business unit, the work of this team will become embedded in the
work of the City of Kitchenerby providing support and guidance to staff across the entire organization –
similar to the operations of other internal support services such as Human Resources, Legal Services
and Corporate Communications.
Team Structure:
Staff are proposing the team be made up of the followingfull-time FTEs as outlined below:
Full job descriptions for each of these proposed positions have been developed based on research into
similar functions in other Canadian municipalities, as well as input gathered through consultations with
members of the Mayor’s EDI Task Force,and severalmembers of the local ACB and Indigenous
communities.The following provides a high-level summary(not fully inclusive of all the job
responsibilities)of eachof theproposed positions:
1)Director (Equity, Anti-Racism & Indigenous Initiatives) – Provide leadership andexpert
recommendations to City Council, CLT,andothermembers of the Equity, Anti-Racism and
Indigenous Initiatives team to fulfill their mandate. Foster strong and mutually beneficial
relationships with people, organizations and governments working on issues of equity, anti-
racism,Indigenous initiativesand social justice (eg. homelessness, addictions), as well as senior
staff across the City of Kitchener organization.As a Director(which is a senior-level positionwithin
the organization), this position would be a member of the Corporate ManagementTeam.
2)Senior Indigenous Advisor – Through collaboration and engagement with the local First
Nations, Metis and Inuit, as well as the application of Indigenous knowledge and traditions,
provide recommendations to the Director, Corporate Leadership Team and City Councilin support
of the City’s response to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission.Foster strong and
mutually beneficial relationships with local First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities and
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organizations. Make recommendations on the creation/adjustment/cancellationof partnerships
and initiativesthat will benefit local Indigenous communities.
3)Senior Anti-Racism Advisor – Lead the City’s Corporate Leadership Team and City Council
(where applicable), in the development and ongoing implementation of a sustained, multi-year
process to identify, disrupt and eliminate systemic barriers,inequities andracismwithin the City
of Kitchener. Foster strong and mutually beneficial relationships withBIPOC (Black, Indigenous,
People of Colour) individuals and organizations focused on the needs of the BIPOC community.
Make recommendations on the creation/adjustment/cancellation of partnerships and initiatives
that are beneficial for BIPOCmembers of thecommunity.
4)Research & Data Analyst – Support the Equity, Anti-Racism and Indigenous Initiatives team with
tasks related to research, data collection, analysis and reporting to fulfill their team mandate.
Implement a multi-year evaluation strategy to publicly monitor, measure and report on theCity’s
work in these areasand implement a cycle of public reporting to key stakeholders. Implement the
City’s strategy to collect and publicly report disaggregated data of staff, service/program users
and volunteers once it has been developed (part of the City’s EDI workplan).
5)Social Planning Associate – Provide recommendations to the Director and Corporate
Leadership Team on emerging social justice issues (eg. homelessness, poverty, consumption
and treatment sites), and the application of an equity-informed framework for social justicerelated
projects and initiatives.Lead the implementation and coordination of the actions outlined in the
City’s Housing Strategy. Facilitate the development of City policies or programs related to social
justice through an equity-lens(eg. homelessness, mental health and addictions).
Staff believe that given the urgency to secure internal expertise in these areas, the recruitment process
for the Director position should beginimmediately, in the hopes it will be completed by the end of 2020
or early 2021.Recruitment for the other FTEs would take place throughout 2021under the guidance of
the newly hiredDirector.
It is important to note that the exact vision for this team, and the specific job responsibilitiesfor each
position, will likely change over time as the City gains additional experienceand expertisein these areas,
as community needs change, and as the Director is brought on board and will no doubt have specific
thoughts and vision for the details of how this team can best work together.
Measures to Support Team’s Success:
The work of this staff team will be challengingand will likely not always be well received/supportedby
key stakeholders inside and outside the organization. These challenges will take a personal and a
professional toll on the individuals who fill the roles.In order to provide those individuals with the personal
supports they will need, and to set the staff team up to succeed, the following actions will be taken:
1)Staff will utilize the services of an external recruiter to support the recruitment of the Director – and
other roles if the need is identified by the Director.Extra, targeted efforts will be made to promote the
job opportunityto attract the best candidate.
2)The Director will be provided with an external coach (of their choosing)to serve as an independent
advisor as they are onboarded and beginto move this work forwardwithin the organization.
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3)The Director will be mentored by the CAO to help build a direct 1-on-1 relationship and to provide
them with an opportunity to better understand the corporate culture, practices and personalities.
4)Regularly scheduled and targeted sessions will be organized between the Director, their team, and
all members of the Corporate Leadership Teamto ensure ongoing alignment and active support for
the team’s work from the City’s most senior staff members.
5)The staff team will work directly with an external public advisory committee(s) to provide them with
personal/professional support and guidance, and to ensure public accountability for their work.There
may be an opportunity for cross-regional collaboration on an advisory committee(s), the details of
which will be determinedonce the Director has been brought onboard.
6)The team will be provided administrative support to allow them to focus on their core responsibilities.
7)Additional supports will be put in place for all members of the staff team on the advice of the Director
(once they are hired).
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
City of Kitchener 2019 – 2022Strategic Priority: Caring Community – Enhance people’s sense of
belonging and connection by providing welcoming community spaces and programs; better engaging,
serving and supporting our diverse populations and helping to make housing affordable.
Strategic Plan Action: Create a comprehensive Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy by 2020 to
combat systemic barriers to full economic and social participation in the city.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The costs associated with the creation of the proposedFTEs (eg. salary, fringebenefits, IT and phone
costs, training) is $556,000. By phasing the hiring of these positions throughout 2021, the impact to the
operating budget can be spread out over two years($353,600in 2021 and $202,400in 2022).
Should Council approve this proposal, the Corporate Leadership Team is committed to working these
costs into the 2021 budgetwhile maintaining a tax rate increase that is at, or below, the average rate of
inflation for 2020 and 2019 (as per Council’s approve policy).
In addition to these standard staffing related costs, other funding will be required to
operationalize/implement the activities of this team. Staff will prioritize funding from existing accounts to
support those activities in 2021. This will provide the Director and their team with the funding they need
in 2021, and the time they need to develop a better understanding of their detailed workplan and funding
needs in advance of the 2022 budget process.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
In preparing this proposal, staff consulted with members of the Mayor’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity
and Inclusion, as well as several members of local Indigenous communities, and the African, Caribbean,
Black community.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: DAN CHAPMAN, CAO
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