Some Collingwood councillors were formally introduced to The Unity Collective this week.
Executive director of customer and corporate service Dean Collver provided an update to councillors during Monday night’s corporate and community services standing committee meeting on the progress of the collective, which was born out of a July report to council that discussed a response to racism in Collingwood.
As the collective is still in its infancy, Collver is taking the lead until a chair is named. However, Collver said the group has worked since early October to establish a path forward.
“They’ve worked to agree on what would be an effective actions to turn Collingwood into the most inclusive community on Earth,” Collver told councillors.
The intention of the group is for members to consult and advise on diversity issues across the town. This could include pointing out real-world examples of systemic racism, considering solutions and starting conversations on making the community more inclusive toward people from different backgrounds.
The collective will work at arms-length from council, but will occasionally bring matters before council for consideration to be debated, implemented or discussed.
Currently, the collective boasts about 16 members including representatives from the town, the Collingwood Youth Centre and the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
Collver said details of the group’s composition will be finalized in the new year.
Mayor Brian Saunderson said he had attended a meeting of the collective, and felt there was a breadth of experience in the room.
Coun. Mariane McLeod asked Collver to explain the difference between a collective and a committee, and why the distinction was important in this case.
“Committee is reflective of branches of council governance, which have the governance embedded within them. That can be problematic if we want to take an objective view of things like systemic racism,” said Collver.
“In other words, if you create an entity that is embedded within a system, potentially, you don’t notice the systemic parts that need to be changed. It was really important that the collective have that objective view in order to provide good advice,” he said.
Collver said the group recently provided advice on a small dollar procurement process.
“(We received) advice from the collective that we ensure the opportunity was deliberately equitable to all cultures within our community,” Collver told CollingwoodToday. “It was a very good thing to notice, and very straightforward advice to accept and implement.
“The little impacts will add up over time so we’re really grateful that the collective has a voice and is willing to share that advice,” he added.
