8 Over 90 years of Service to our Community We offer Modern Amenities Together with Timeless Values of Trust and Caring Service. 110 Dundas Street E.,Whitby • 905-668-3410 wctownfuneralchapel.com times and suggested hiring the positions in 2023-24, Mayor Don Mitchell said "people want to see actions, and they want to see them moving ahead soon." That was what Angela Todd Anderson, president of the Congress of Black Women of Canada, Oshawa-Whitby chapter, had told council earlier. "We realize that these initiatives will take great work and take committed staff members to move these recommendations forward, especially in the area of diversity and inclusion," Todd Anderson said. "It's important that the work get started sooner rather than later," she said. Greg Frankson, a Black businessperson who has spoken out on issues in the local community, agreed with Todd Anderson and said Whitby was only playing catch-up with its neighbouring communities. "The passage of the IDEA strategy and the creation of the two positions to manage it is an important, though belated step forward for the town. "When we look at our peer communities, Ajax, Pickering and Oshawa, those communities had approaches on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity before Whitby. They hired staff to administer programs before the Town of Whitby. We are behind in every measurable way, even though council is trumpeting how amazing it is that Whitby is one of the most multicultural municipalities in the country," Frankson said. The report presented by consultants, which passed unanimously at committee, has a long list of recommendations and plenty for the two new hires to work on, as well as town staff and the community as a whole. One of the take-aways from the report was the following slice of information, from a survey of 495 Whitby residents conducted for the report: 60 per cent said they had not experienced discrimination as defined by IDEA 61 per cent said they had not experienced issues with inclusivity 62 per cent said they had not experienced issues with equity 62 per cent said they had not experienced issues with diversity On the other hand: 27 per cent said they had experienced issues with discrimination 20 per cent said they had experienced issues with inclusivity 20 per cent said they had experienced issues with equity 16 per cent said they had experienced issues with diversity The report lists 41 separate action items regarding IDEA issues and rates Whitby on a scale of 1 (invisible) to 4 (cultural or embedded in the culture) in each item (1 beingthe lowest rating for IDEA, 4 the highest rating). The town received a lot of 2 grades, with some 3s and a few 1s. It did not rate a 4 in any category across the 41 action items. The action items include: the town's organization, its leadership, its employees, its relationship with stakeholders, with clients and the community They were broken down into many subsections so there is plenty of work ahead. It is expected that change will not come overnight. The consultants expect that significant improvements will take at least five years. The report goes to council for ratification on Jan. 31. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Town of Whitby undertook to hire consultants to look into issues of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism (IDEA) and received their report recently. The report recommends numerous improve- ments that are needed, including the hiring of two officers to administer the changes, at a cost of $343,500. COUNCIL BIG IMPROVEMENTS TO TAKE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS, CONSULTANTS SAY Continued from front Whitby businessperson Greg Frankson said Whitby has a long way to go to become more inclusive, equitable and diverse. Greg Frankson photo SCAN THE CODE to read more Whitby news at durhamregion.com. The Town of Whitby will recognize Jan. 29 as a Day of Remembrance of the Quebec mosque massacre of 2017. Whitby town council passed the motion at its Jan. 17 committee of whole meeting, deciding to honour the memory of the six worshippers who were killed at the mosque five years ago. Reg. Coun. Chris Leahy brought the motion forward and it was unanimously supported by all members of council. Coun. Maleeha Shahid, the only Muslim member of council, expressed her feelings on the motion. "I just want to mention it is the Town of Whitby who has always been there for the people who suffered. This is a testament of our town. I hope we never have to see six families suffer in one day or suffer around the world. We stand in solidarity with all the people who have lost family members that day," Shahid said. The motion now goes to the council meeting of Jan. 31 for ratification. Whitby Coun. Maleeha Shahid applauded council's move to make Jan. 29 an annual Day of Remembrance for those killed in the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting. Ryan Pfeiffer/Metroland COUNCIL VOTES TO MARK DAY OF REMEMBRANCE 'WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DAY': COUN. MALEEHA SHAHID TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com