Collingwood Mayor Brian Saunderson has issued a letter to residents, following an incident at Sunset Point Park.
Saunderson wrote, “Recently, I was sent videos depicting a confrontation between what appears to be local residents and assumed visitors to the community. The backdrop of this video is Sunset Point Park.
The current pandemic orders, that we are all trying to navigate, cannot become a way for any discrimination to become excusable. The Black Lives Matter marches of last summer, and events around the world, have challenged us to look inward and examine our own biases, attitudes, privilege, and assumptions. We have seen the rise of progressive movements and efforts in our community to meet this challenge, and the fact that the opposite has appeared to have happened in one of our parks is seriously disconcerting.
Throughout the past year, and during my time in office, I have witnessed many inspiring moments and acts of heroism at the hands of our community members. Without exception, these acts represent the best of our community and the ideal of what we, as a community, aspire to be: an inclusive, compassionate, and welcoming place to live, work, and play. I call upon the residents of Collingwood, to stand united with the world and all of its various cultures, in the face of this pandemic, to work together to get through this trying time, and be committed to building the community that we aspire to be.
Be well and be kind to each other.
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