So much for diversity on City of Ottawa advisory committees

Working people and young families are effectively shut out, writes Erin Gee.

Shortly after Ottawa’s municipal election in October, Mayor Jim Watson started promoting the fact that the city’s committees and boards (for instance, transportation and health) were accepting applications for new membership. These are volunteer positions. As a civic-minded person, I shared the link with some friends — women, to be exact — and encouraged them to apply since, in the waning days of his campaign, the mayor committed to 50-per-cent female membership of these boards. However, on further inspection, I realized that as much as I wanted to up my civic engagement, City of Ottawa boards and committees would be a challenging way to do so — for me, my friends and most people we know. Why? Because the city’s boards and committees are discriminatory. These boards and committees are structured so that it is incredibly difficult for new people to participate, which means these bodies will thus cater to the exact same demographic already involved. The city has 17 committees and boards from which to choose. While some meet only quarterly, the more noteworthy and newsworthy groups meet at least monthly. On its face, this is a reasonable requirement, but many of these committees, such as the Transit Commission and the Built-Heritage Sub-Committee, meet during business hours. Day-time meetings mean anyone with a full-time job (a.k.a. my friends and me) is almost automatically unable to fulfil the requirement. There are, of course, exceptions, but the vast majority of working age people would not be able to meet during business hours. Further, it’s also prohibitive to those who work shifts because it means that they are either unable to work the day of the meeting, thus losing a day’s wages. It also discourages participation from single parents who would need to find an extra day’s worth of childcare. Then there’s the Police Services Board, which requires on average 25 hours of participation — per month. In addition to document review, this time commitment includes “between 3 and 7 meetings/events per month (5 on average)” and members are expected to participate in at least one subcommittee, which meets during the day (the main board meetings occur monthly at 4 p.m.). Putting aside the barriers of daytime meetings, 25 hours is a significant amount of time for a volunteer position. This immediately means that those with families (single parents or otherwise), particularly young ones, would find it incredibly difficult to participate. And 4 p.m. is, an unreasonable start time for those who have any sort of employment Why does this all matter? These committees and boards make recommendations to city council. They are meant to be representative of the population of the city, providing a diverse range of experiences and expertise. Yet, in their current format, they are structured in a manner that favours the majority population and discriminates against anyone who is different — including women, people of colour, those with alternative work schedules, and lowerincome folks. In their current format, the city is saying that unless you are more established in your career or alleviated of the burden of child care, these roles are not for you. And we wonder why more women, people of colour and young people don’t rush to run for public office. Take a few moments to look at the makeup of some of the committees. How accurately do they represent Ottawa’s population? In order to be truly representative of those on whose behalf they’re making recommendations, it’s important for under-represented groups to be given a fair shot at civic participation. Having a decision-maker who regularly use public transportation with her children, or who works multiple jobs and lives in social housing, would likely lead to positive policy outcomes. These perspectives are worthy of inclusion and will help create a city that is more inclusive, and livable, for everyone. Erin Gee co-hosts the Ottawa-based Bad+Bitchy Podcast and thinks maybe she’ll run for public office one day.