Sadia Khan says the City of Red Deer needs to talk less and do more to combat racism (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall

call to action

City called on to be less complacent on racism

Jul 10, 2020 | 5:21 PM

Red Deer’s Welcoming and Inclusive Communities (WIC) Network is calling upon the municipality that created it in 2015 to do more to combat racism.

At the heart of the matter, says former WIC co-chair Sadia Khan, is the City’s lack of action despite not only forming WIC, but also signing onto the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities (CIM) in 2013 and introducing a protocol with the Urban Aboriginal Voices Society (UAVS) in 2017 to improve relations with the local Indigenous community.

“The City put out a blanket statement last month after we protested literally at their doorstep. But the City did not reach out to WIC to ask our thoughts or about how we felt,” says Khan. “They did not engage in a conversation with WIC prior to or after putting that blanket statement out. They shouldn’t get to pick and choose when to work with us.”

The City of Red Deer tells rdnewsNOW that it didn’t consult with WIC on the statement primarily due to tight timelines.

The statement noted Red Deer hosted the 2016 Fostering Diverse Communities Conference, and that all staff are given diversity and inclusion training, but Khan isn’t convinced the depth of that training is enough.

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Kristy Svoboda, the city’s human resources director, says the training helps staff and council understand, among other things, related legislation and initiatives, diversity among fellow employees and the public they serve, what inclusion really means and roles and responsibilities to reduce barriers, challenges faced by diverse populations, and how to deal with discrimination when it happens.

Khan still believes, however, that the City and council have been complacent on combatting racism and discrimination.

“One small, but meaningful thing they could do is acknowledge the land at the start of a council meeting. How hard is that? Everyone as treaty people must do that as part of reconciliation and moving that needle,” she says. “It just blows my mind that they don’t do that.”

Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge do land acknowledgements at the start of council meetings.

Another concern noted in WIC’s call to action is the City’s Diversity & Inclusion Specialist position that has sat vacant since last fall. Khan says after the last person left that role the City had no one working on the Workplace Inclusion Charter developed by Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership.

“That vacancy was advertised in December until January. As a result of COVID-19, recruitment virtually came to a standstill,” says Svoboda. “The intention is to recruit and select the right person for the critical Diversity & Inclusion Specialist.”

No council member is assigned to WIC, though the city’s diversity specialist has sat on the network in the past, Khan notes.

“No one has held our elected representatives accountable, especially on the issues of equity and inclusion,” says Khan. “They think signing (CIM) or having WIC in place or making the protocol with UAVS is enough, but there has to be actions.”

Among the actions the City says it’s undertaken since signing the UAVS protocol three years ago are making land acknowledgements at the start of workshops and public engagements, participating in community events related to National Indigenous Peoples Day, Orange Shirt Day and the Walking With Our Sisters Project, as well hosting the blanket exercise for staff.

The City also says its Social Planning department is working with UAVS to implement a community facilitator role which was voted on in 2017 during a community engagement meeting.

The City continues its longstanding work with the Red Deer Native Friendship Society, Svoboda adds, and to be a partner at Asooahum Centre.

A petition started last month by WIC calling for action has over 1,200 signatures. Khan said it will be presented to the City of Red Deer once it closes in the coming days.