Pembroke City Councillor Ian Kuehl has issued a statement after Mayor Ron Gervais cancelled a slate of committees including the Diversity Advisory Committee, a decision that’s disappointed and shocked some local residents, groups and former committee members.
In a recent statement, Kuehl says he hears the Mayor’s position, but disagrees that work of the diversity committee is already over. Kuehl says Pembroke continues to see active hatred expressed in the community and adds many engaged residents want to see the Diversity Advisory Committee continued.
Mayor Ron Gervais has said the city will follow up on a Diversity Action Plan that was received through the Diversity Committee, create and Indigenous Mural and has personally committed to be involved in the Multicultural Festival and ensure Pembroke remains diverse and inclusive. Kuehl says the Diversity Advisory Committee should be continued to ensure that the report and steps the Mayor speaks of are properly implemented and cause real change.
While Kuehl does not believe that the City of Pembroke will require a specific diversity related committee forever, the Pembroke Councillor says ongoing harassment and hate activities taking place in the City, the fact that the Committee’s report has not yet even been fully reviewed and actioned, and the fact that so many residents are calling for the current continuation of the Diversity Advisory Committee, are all factors that carry extraordinary weight in terms of supporting the committee’s continuation at this time.
Kuehl also noted the lack of diversity on Pembroke City Council and the lack of diversity at the top managerial levels in the City of Pembroke. Kuehl says we should all strive to improve ourselves, improve our community and improve our future, to ensure that no one is left behind or cast off to the side. Mayor Gervais says the City of Pembroke has already started training for senior staff focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as Indigenous rights and reconciliation.
Kuehl says having a Diversity Advisory Committee on which our current Council and city staff can fall back on is a strength and not a weakness or cost.
Kuehl also challenged the decision of the Mayor to cancel the committee without consulting council. Quoting the procedural by-law, Kuehl says it’s not up to the Mayor to decide which advisory committees are created and notes council has not had any proposed committees put before them for approval. Douglas Judson, Chair of the Federation of Ontario Law Associations, says unless Pembroke has delegated powers for governance/committee structure to the Mayor, the unilateral action to cancel the committees appears to be illegal and could be struck by a court under the Municipal Act.
Pembroke Council will meet on Tuesday, December 13th and it’s likely that the Diversity Committee will one of the talking points at City Hall. Kuehl looks forward to a motion being brought before council to continue with the Diversity Advisory Committee and plans to vote in favour of keeping it.
(written by: Rudy Kadlec)
Unless Council of the City of Pembroke (@PembrokeInfo) has delegated powers for governance/committee structure to the Mayor, this unilateral action would appear to be illegal and can be struck by a court under section 273 of the Municipal Act, 2001. https://t.co/gnaXkkqTOB
— Douglas W. Judson 🇨🇦 (@dwjudson) December 6, 2022
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Local resident disappointed the climate and diversity committees not continuing in Pembroke