City votes to join Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities

Council gave unanimous final approval on Monday to have the city join a new cross-country association of municipalities against racism.

“Hell yes!” said Coun. Stephen Wright, when it came his turn to say yea or nay in a recorded vote.

There are already 77 Canadian cities in the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities, and a staff report says it’s free to join.

Communities that join the coalition can exchange information on how they work against racism and discrimination locally, states the report.

Council also directed city staff to research whether the city is eligible for funding from the provincial or federal government to cover the full cost of hiring a diversity officer on contract.

Prior to the vote, council heard two citizens speak in support of the city joining the coalition; Peter Williams, the community development and engagement co-ordinator for Peterborough Police, and Angela Connors, the co-ordinator for the Community and Race Relations Committee.

Council also received letters from a dozen organizations that supported joining the coalition (letters came from the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association, for example, which operates the city’s only mosque — the same one that was firebombed four years ago in an unsolved hate crime).

Coun. Kemi Akapo said she was pleased to see this vote: “It’s time for the city to take another step forward.”

After the vote, Wright said he’d be doing “a happy dance” later in the hallway.

He said that in 15 years living in Peterborough he’s faced “challenges” as a Black man, and that having the city join the coalition “is an official step forward.”

“It’s a great day,” he said.