Chestermere City Council is promoting inclusion and cultural diversity following the announcement that the city has become a member of the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities (CIM), on Oct. 1.
“In our community, we want an amazing quality of life, amazing opportunities, and amazing neighbourhoods for all our residents,” said Mayor Marshall Chalmers.
The CIM is committed to meeting 10 common commitments to end racism and discrimination within Canadian communities.
The City of Chestermere has committed to fulfilling three out of 10 common commitments for the first two years of the CIM membership. However, the city will continue to distribute plans to fulfill the remainder of commitments in the future.
The commitments including the increase of vigilance against systemic and individual racism, and discrimination, provide equal opportunities as a municipal employer, service provider, and contractor, and promote respect, understanding, and appreciation of cultural diversity, and the inclusion of aboriginal and racialized communities in the municipality.
“We have committed to the development of diversity and inclusion policies and can now utilize the CIM toolkit to offer educational opportunities to the community, our partners and city staff,” said Diversity and Inclusion Strategist Joanne Kinya Mugambi.
The educational opportunities will include workshops, such as Dialogues for Diversity, and multicultural community-based events.
“The next step is to create a Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Committee for the city in partnership with council and community members. Together, the committee will work toward achieving these three goals,” Mugambi said.
Along with promoting inclusion, the City of Chestermere will also continue to increase Indigenous history awareness and continue to participate in the acts of reconciliation with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action for municipalities.
The CIM will offer benefits to Chestermere, such as a safer and cohesive quality of life for Chestermere residents, and place the community in a better position to attract and retain new homeowners and businesses.
The city has also begun to provide printed materials in multiple languages and incorporate translations on all pages of the city website as another way to promote inclusivity to all residents.
For additional information on events happening in Chestermere which support diversity, please visit the City of Chestermere website at chestermere.ca/diversity.
