Owen Sound council has passed a motion to “actively” work toward anti-racism and anti-oppression.
City council resolved at its meeting Monday to do so at “every opportunity” including, but limited to, information sharing, ongoing education and training for council, committee members and city employees regarding anti-racism, anti-oppression, diversity and inclusion.
Coun. Carol Merton introduced the motion. She told her colleagues she brought it forward to acknowledge racism and oppression are continuing factors of living for many, and as a city council they can declare their ongoing commitment to actively work towards anti-racism and anti-oppression at every opportunity.
“There is more that we can learn and more that we can do to be change leaders, to ensure that Owen Sound continues to grow, to be a safe, inclusive and welcoming community,” Merton said.
In a recorded vote, Coun. Scott Greig was the lone councillor to vote against the motion as presented.
He expressed concerns with the amount of workload the direction would add onto city staff, and asked if there is evidence this is an issue in Owen Sound.
“Because if it's just behavioural programming we're asking for, that's not something I would support,” Greig stated.
Coun. Travis Dodd said “it doesn't matter if there's proof or not” and “we do know there is racism within our society”.
In an interview, Greig said he felt council would have benefited from the regular notice of motion. Council had waived the requirement to provide notice in order to discuss and vote on the items brought forward by Merton immediately.
Greig said because the motion had a staff workload and a staff directive to it, he would have liked to have it better demonstrated what the structural impediments and barriers were in the corporation which condone or contribute to racism.
“Without having those acknowledged I did not feel comfortable supporting the motion as I thought it was broad and swept too many with a negative brush,” explains Greig. “Particularly, because some instances were initiated by individuals not from Owen Sound or potentially inciting issues through social media channels which may not be within the scope of council to respond to.”
Greig noted at Monday's meeting one of the more public incidents of racism in recent years in Owen Sound — a 2018 vandalism involving anti-Semitic and threatening messages on a door at the Beth Ezekiel Synagogue — was not committed by someone from here.
He added he isn't willing to “broad stroke” the entire community as being racist.
There are some other incidents of racism that entered into the public eye in the past year in Owen Sound.
A 22-year-old Owen Sound man was handed a conditional sentence after admitting to vandalizing the Owen Sound Muslim Association on back-to-back nights in July 2019 due to “bias based on religion.”
Owen Sound Police also investigated a series of hate-motivated mischief incidents in late 2019, when stickers believed to be linked to neo-Nazi, white supremacist and islamaphobic ideologies were popping up around the city.
City Manager Tim Simmonds advised councillors there is not a formalized diversity strategy Owen Sound has at this time. He said he thinks there is opportunity with the new strategic plan to work diversity into the conversation as part of the four pillars of the plan.
Council also passed a second motion on Monday to acknowledge and support Bill M-36, a private member's bill from Richmond Hill Liberal MP Majid Jowhari that seeks to have the federal government designate August 1 as “Emancipation Day” in Canada.