HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOR-2021-32 - Membership Appointments for the Equity & Anti-Racism Adivsory Committee
REPORT TO: Committee of the Whole
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DATE OF MEETING: December 13, 2021
SUBMITTED BY: Elin Moorlag Silk, Project Manager, Equity, Anti-Racism &
Indigenous Initiatives, 519-741-2200, ext. 7049
PREPARED BY: Elin Moorlag Silk, Project Manager, Equity, Anti-Racism &
Indigenous Initiatives, 519-741-2200, ext. 7049
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All wards
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DATE OF REPORT: December 8, 2021
REPORT NO.: COR-2021-32
SUBJECT: Membership Appointments for the Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory
Committee
RECOMMENDATION:
That the list of recommended citizen candidates for the Equity and Anti-Racism
Advisory Committee for the inaugural term of January 1, 2022 to November 14, 2022,
as outlined in COR-2021-32, be approved.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this report is to appoint citizens to the Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory
Committee of Council.
The financial implications are none.
Community engagement include
Force on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, who comprise the Interim Nominating Committee
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The application process was open to community members from November 1 to
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November 19, 2021, advertised through social media posts and the city website.
Selections of the Interim Nominating Committee were made with a focus on prioritizing
voices who have been historically underrepresented or excluded, including Black,
Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+ identified, people with disabilities, religious
minorities and the intersections of these identities.
This report supports the delivery of core services.
BACKGROUND:
The creation of an Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory Committee was approved by Council in
August 2021, as proposed in staff report COR-2021-21. As outlined in the report, this Equity
and Anti-Racism Advisory Committee will fulfil an advisory role, providing advice and
recommendations to Council on matters related to equity and anti-racism to support and
Membership on this Advisory Committee will include
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between 8 and 12 citizen community members who live, work, attend school and/or own
property in Kitchener and will prioritize voices who have been historically underrepresented
or excluded, including Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+ identified, people with
disabilities, religious minorities, and the intersections of these identities. Although members
of City Council will not have an official seat on this advisory committee, mechanisms of
Council inclusion will be put in place to ensure open channels of communication and
opportunities for updates on an ongoing basis.
In addition to the Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, the creation of an Interim
Nominating Committee was also approved by Council, as proposed in COR-2021-21, in
order to facilitate a nomination and appointment process led by community members who
bring a diversity of voices not currently represented in the existing Nominating Committee.
Following the process outlined in COR-2021-21,
on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion were invited to be part of the Interim Nominating Committee.
Based on the responses received, staff brought recommendations forward to Council in
September 2021 for the appointment of the following six community members to the Interim
Nominating Committee, as outlined in COR-2021-27:
August Adelman member of the Jewish and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, disability advocate
Colleen James equity & inclusion consultant, professor at Conestoga College
Eltag Elkhalifa representative from the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre
Fauzia Baig representative from the Coalition of Muslim Women
Scott Williams representative from Spectrum ty Space)
Tara Bedard representative from Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership
The nominating committee has completed its work and is recommending a list of
appointments for the inaugural term of the Equity and Anti-Racism Advisory Committee.
REPORT:
The application process for community members to apply to the Equity & Anti-Racism
Advisory Committee was launched on November 1, 2021, remained open for three weeks,
and closed on November 19, 2021. Applications were predominantly made through an
online platform, though paper copies and alternative methods of applying were also made
available. A total of 37 applications were received, predominantly from those who fit the
demographics of the priority groups previously identified (see Appendix A for a summary of
demographic data for all applicants).
Members of the Interim Nominating Committee reviewed all 37 applications through a
thoughtful, collaborative, and rigorous four-step process:
1. Each application was rated based on the responses provided to the questions in the
application, which were focused on 1) why the applicant would like to be a member
of the advisory committee, 2) what they hope to contribute, and 3) what they hope to
gain. A standardized rating system was developed and provided to each member of
the interim nominating committee to use. In addition to the ratings, consideration was
also given to demographics, representation and potential fit for each applicant.
2. Once all members completed their review of the applicants, a first meeting was held
of the Interim Nominating Committee, facilitated by City staff, whereby ratings for
each applicant were shared by all members of the committee, and through further
conversation and consideration of both quantitative and qualitative factors, a shortlist
of 21 applicants was agreed upon.
3. Each of the 21 applicants on the short list was then contacted and invited to take part
in a conversation with City staff. This conversation was focused on the applicants
strategies for navigating membership in a committee such as this where people will
be bringing their own unique lived experiences, will have specific issues that are
important to them, yet need to balance this with creating space for others whose
experiences and priorities are different from their own. Summary notes from each
conversation were reported back to members of the Interim Nominating Committee.
4. A final meeting of the Interim Nominating Committee was held to discuss the
outcomes of the conversations with applicants. Through thoughtful discussion and
consideration of all relevant information, including balanced representation of
experiences, demographic diversity, and overall fit with the objectives of the
committee, recommendations for the group of applicants listed below were made.
As per the process outlined, all applications were reviewed, discussed and carefully
considered by members of the community who themselves bring diverse lived experiences
with racism, oppression, homophobia, Islamophobia, discrimination, exclusion, and who
also hold significant expertise in the areas of community engagement and collaborative
decision-making.
Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory Committee
As this is the inaugural term of appointments for this committee, all 12 citizen vacancies are
available for appointment. The following 11 individuals have applied and are being
recommended for appointment:
Aaliyah Whyte-Watson
Andrea Daley
Avni Adams
Christine Furniss
Danny Martin
Keitty Roblero
Paul Okoye
Saba Oji
Sharon Van Manen
Shawn (Bangishimo) Johnston
Yexin Tan
It is the recommendation of city staff that Council approve the list of 11 nominees put forward
for the inaugural term of the Equity and Anti-Racism Advisory Committee. It is also the
recommendation of the nominating committee that one additional appointment be made to
the committee specifically for the inclusion of a voice from the Muslim community. Additional
recruitment will be conducted by staff in January of 2022 through an accelerated application
process in an attempt to select an applicant for this appointment, which will then be
submitted for Council approval. The twelfth spot on the committee is being held for this
reason.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports the delivery of core services.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Capital Budget The recommendation has no impact on the Capital Budget.
Operating Budget The recommendation has no impact on the Operating Budget.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM This report has been posted to the
the council / committee meeting.
COLLABORATE The Interim Nominating Committee was developed in collaboration with
members
predominantly comprised of community members, whose lived experiences and expertise
in a wide variety of areas directly informed the recommendations made for membership on
the Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory Committee.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
COR-2021-21: Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory Committee to Council
COR-2021-27: Interim Nominating Committee recommendations for membership
GOV-BOA-010: Appointments to Boards & Committees
APPROVED BY: Dan Chapman, CAO
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix A - Summary of all applicant demographics for the Equity & Anti-Racism
Advisory Committee (N=37)
Equity & Anti-Racism Advisory CommitteeApplications
Summary of Demographic Data for all applicants (N=37)
%
Born in Canada N
Age Category N %
46%
Yes 16
Under 18 years old 2 6%
54%
No 19
18 29 years old 10 29%
100%
Total 35
30 39 years old 11 31%
40 49 years old 7 20%
%
Gender Identity N
50 59 years old 3 9%
61%
Woman 22
60 64 years old 1 3%
28%
Man 10
65 years and above 1 3%
11%
Gender non-conforming 4
Total 35 100%
100%
Total 37
Racial/Ethnic Background N %
South, Southeast, West, or East Asian 16 31%
Black 7 19%
White 6 17%
Other* (Indian-Caribbean, Indigenous, Métis, Latin American) 7 33%
Total 36 100%
*These categories were collapsed to protect individual identity and prevent reporting a cell size smaller than 4
Sexuality N %
Heterosexual 23 64%
Other* (Queer, Lesbian, Bisexual, Asexual, Two-Spirit) 8 22%
Prefer not to answer 5 14%
Total 36 100%
*These categories were collapsed to protect individual identity and prevent reporting a cell size smaller than 4