THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF PEEL

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND ANTI-RACISM COMMITTEE

MINUTES

DEAR-1/2021

Thursday, January 21, 2021

10:30 A.m. - 12:00 P.m.

Council Chamber, 5th Floor

Regional Administrative Headquarters

10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A

Brampton, Ontario

Members Present:

• T. Awuni
• D. Damerla
• G.S. Dhillon
• J. Downey
• N. Iannicca
• J. Kovac
• S. McFadden
• R. Rokerya
• R. Santos

Members Absent:

• R. Deo

Staff Present

• J. Baker, Chief Administrative Officer
• K. Lockyer, Regional Clerk and Interim Commissioner of Corporate Services
• P. O'Connor, Regional Solicitor
• J. Sheehy, Commissioner of Human Services
• N. Polsinelli, Commissioner of Health Services
• J. Jackson, Director, Culture and Inclusion
• C. Thomson, Deputy Clerk and Manager of Legislative Services
• H. Gill, Committee Clerk
• S. Valleau, Legislative Specialist
• R. Khan, Legislative Technical Coordinator

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

Councillor Downey, Committee Chair, called the Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism Committee meeting to order on January 21, 2021 at 10:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive.

Member Rokerya arrived at 10:32 a.m.

Other Council Member present: A. Thompson

2.

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Nil.

3.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

• RECOMMENDATION DEAR-1-2021:

  That the agenda for the January 21, 2021 Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism Committee meeting, be approved.

4.

DELEGATIONS

4.1

Ron Bennett, Artist, Colourful Canadian Memories

Regarding a Request to Name a Municipal Holiday to Commemorate the Passage of the First Act Against Slavery

• Received
• RECOMMENDATION DEAR-2-2021:

  That a letter be sent to the Premier of Ontario, in support of the request from Ron Bennet, Artist, Colourful Canadian Memories, to rename the civic holiday on the first Monday of August to “Chloe and John Day” to commemorate the passage of the first act against slavery.

Ron Bennett, Artist, Colourful Canadian Memories, provided an overview of the struggles of an enslaved woman, Chloe Cooley, against her “owner” which precipitated the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, 1793. He requested the support of the Region of Peel to name the Civic Holiday in August, Chloe and John Day.

Councillor McFadden noted that while the Region of Peel and local municipalities have policies related to the naming of streets and monuments, they do not have jurisdiction with respect to the naming of public holidays. Councillor McFadden suggested staff send a letter to the provincial government to convey the Committee’s support for the renaming of the August holiday.

4.2

Shelley Tsolakis, Community Development Coordinator and Rachel Pennington, Public Art Curator, City of Mississauga

Presenting the City of Mississauga’s 2020/2021 Response to Regional Funding for Visible Expressions of Pride

• Received
• RECOMMENDATION DEAR-3-2021:

  That the Region of Peel’s recognition of Pride Month be moved from July to June to be in alignment with the Greater Toronto Area.

Shelley Tsolakis, Community Development Coordinator and Rachel Pennington, Public Art Curator, City of Mississauga, provided an update on the City of Mississauga's 2020/2021 response to regional funding for visible expressions of Pride.  The update highlighted the "Your Voice Series" which provided opportunity to have facilitated dialogue with the community, and through this process it was identified that public art was a very important physical expression of Pride.  The City is developing the final design in consultation with Mississauga’s 2SLGBTQ+ community and painting of the mural is planned for Pride 2021.

In response to a question from Councillor Downey, Juliet Jackson, Director, Culture and Inclusion noted that Peel Pride has been observed in July rather than in June; however, there is opportunity to move Peel Pride to June to align with other GTA celebrations.

5.

REPORTS

5.1

Region of Peel Indigenous Land Acknowledgement

(For information)

• RECOMMENDATION DEAR-4-2021:

  That staff be directed to report back to a future meeting of the Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism Committee on corporate policy B00-03-01 Naming of Facilities, with suggestions for renaming the Region of Peel Council Chambers in honor of an Indigenous Person;

  And further, that the subject report include a review of opportunities for additional expressions of Indigenous acknowledgement.

In response to a request from Regional Chair Iannicca regarding renaming of the Council Chambers in honor of an Indigenous person, Kathryn Lockyer, Interim Commissioner of Corporate Services noted that staff could report back to the committee on the naming of facilities corporate policy and provide some suggestions for the Committee's consideration.

5.2

Visible Demonstrations of Pride in Peel

(For information)

• Received

6.

COMMUNICATIONS

6.1

Navreen Chohan, Advisor, Peel Housing Corporation, Region of Peel

Email dated December 17, 2020, Regarding a Call for Awareness - India’s Farmer Protests
(Receipt recommended)

• Received

7.

OTHER BUSINESS

Members of the Committee discussed the recent inauguration of the United States of America Vice-President, Kamala Harris and poetic reading by Amanda Gorman, and suggested that a congratulatory letter be sent.

8.

IN CAMERA MATTERS

Nil.

9.

NEXT MEETING

Thursday, April 15, 2021
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Council Chamber, 5th Floor
Regional Administrative Headquarters
10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A
Brampton, Ontario

Please forward regrets to Harjit Gill, Committee Clerk, at [email protected].

10.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 11:06 a.m.