Kensington to draft anti-racism action plan

KENSINGTON — The Town of Kensington is putting together an anti-racism action plan in response to a racist incident allegedly committed by a Kensington junior B hockey player during a December hockey game.

During the Jan. 10 regular meeting of Kensington town council, Mayor Rowan Caseley read a statement addressing the incident where during the game, a player on the Kensington Vipers allegedly directed an anti-Asian comment toward one of the players on the Sherwood Metros. Caseley decried the incident. “I’d like to state emphatically this evening, this is not representative of our community,” said Caseley. “We are an inclusive and diverse community and do not and will not accept any sort of racism activity within our community.”

Caseley noted that the incident is the second recently reported racist action during a P.E.I. hockey game, referring to a Nova Scotia hockey player who was the target of racist abuse during a tournament in Charlottetown in November.

“This, most recent incident, is in our own backyard,” added Caseley.

The mayor asked council members for their support in directing the town’s chief administrative officer, Geoff Baker, to create a list of actions the town can undertake to declare a strong response against the incident.

Caseley said that potential actions the town could take include anti-racism policies for town-owned facilities, education and diversity training and anti-racism advertisements, among other options.

Coun. Ivan Gallant declared his support for Caseley’s suggestion.

“I think we should do everything we can to keep this from happening in our community and the Island in general,” said Gallant.

Coun. Jeff Spencer moved to direct the town CAO to put together the action plan. The motion was unanimously approved.