Diversity

By Margaret Third

, _ North Shore Multicultural

+ Socdety:

IT would scem that
some of those joining in
sthe recent debate over

the District of North ,

Vancouver’s Diversity °

| Advisory Conimittee are

doing so. without being
‘aware of the content of
the diversity policy. the;:
x, Committee was created
to help implement, or:

the support it continues -

rou

UP iiert
Sn Po
Ria

‘To be briefly historical, the
district council in 1992

. appointed a Multicultural ‘Task

force to “examine whether
district Services were equally
accessible to newcomers, to

\. recommend actions to

improve accessibility, and to.
\ promote participation in
municipal affairs” (June 3,

is supported

1997 staff repurt to counell),
This risk foree produced a
number of recommendations
Which were adopted by coun:
cil between 1994 and 1996,
Including the establishment of
a Community: Diversity

> Advisory Committee and the

creator ala paltey an diversi+
Ul

The hhnguage here ts signit®
leant, While the Multicultural
‘Task Foree was initially formed
because council had concerns
about whether it was ade-
quately serving the growing
“ethnic” population on the
North Shore, the mandate of

the committee and of the poli-

cy has broadened through.
community input,

The mandate now includes
issues stich as “gender equality,

agelsmn and the participadon of
peuple with a range of ablil-
ties” (June 3, 1997 report),
While the constitution and
charter certainly are the fou:
dation lor equal rights, the
rationale for sucha conmltiee
is to ensure that residents do
HOt have to resort to the
courts Jn order to have equit
decess tu services that are their
right.
Readers of the article in the

~ North Shore News cn June

18, whicl: included the duties
and responsibilities of the
committee, must have won-
dered if the editorial on June
29 was aimed at the same...
committee, q
With a membership that

includes senior staff from the -

North Shore Health Region,

™,

i

Wednesday, July 16, 1997 ~ North Shore News ~ 9'7

«the ROMD, Library Board,
Reereatlon Comaission,
CUPE and the Firefighters’
Union, as well as the
Advisory Committee on
Disability Issues, the
Multicultural Soclety and
three residents at large, and
dutles that begin with, Sto
provide edvice to Council on
matters that pertals to diver:
sity, aceess to services for
people ofall abllitles and
packgrounds, gender issues
and race relations,” iris diffi.
cult to see why there should
be such strongly phrased
opposition.

The diversity policy in its
present form begins “the

Corporation of the District of

North Vancouver encourages

understanding by residents of

diverse backgrounds of the *
core Canadian values as exem-
plitied by the North Shore

‘community, including justice, °

~-tolerance, fairness, equality,

cooperation, democracy and
respect for the environment
and {retividual eights,”

Where does this Imply, as
the editorial Welter on June 29
states, that the establishment >
of this advisory committee
says to North Vancouver
Detect residents that “your
chronic intolerance towards

» local ethinies requires the

assembhige ofan entire advi-
sory committee to police your
attitudes and soctal ranagres-
slons?” ape

This committee and policy
has nothing to do with what
the editorial writer calls “gov.
ernment-enforeed multicultur-
alism”

It has everything to do
with a sober’and realistic. -

acceptance of the fact that we...

live tn a complicated society. -
that requires something more

_ than lip service to equality too
make it function equitably for’

all its members... |

ses

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