Kings race relations, inclusion team looking for public support

BY KIRK STARRATT

Kings County Register

Focused on action for priority commitments, County of Kings’ Race Relations and Anti-Discrimination Committee is ready to take its message to the public.

The group will launch its plans at the Old Orchard Inn in Greenwich Oct. 28, 6 p.m.

Deputy Warden Diana Brothers, committee chairwoman, says the event includes a half-hour meet-and-greet before guest speakers Walter Newton, Dr. O. Igho Natufe and Chief Lawrence Paul take the floor. Another special guest is Daniel N. Paul, author of “We Were Not The Savages” and recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada, among many other honours and awards.

The Kings committee will address socio-economic issues and discrimination in the county, as well as other barriers in the community. Brothers brought the UNESCO initiative to her council colleagues after the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Calgary in 2006. In February 2008, council approved a declaration to join the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination and adopted its 10 common commitments. The committee, including two councillors, Brothers and Dale Lloyd; formed. Other members include municipal staff representative Chris Moore, citizen members Crystal Best, John Cleveland, Garry Michaud and Dr. James Retallack; and advisory members Dr. Carolyn Campbell and Sharon Criss-O’Neill. “It’s one of the most exciting committees I’ve worked on,” Brothers says. “I’m excited about moving ahead.”

So far, the committee has focused on three commitment: providing equal opportunities as a municipal employer, increasing awareness of racism and discrimination and monitoring racism and discrimination in the county more broadly, with municipal action taken to address racism and discrimination.

A recommendation to county council in September to hire a cross-cultural and race relations facilitator to conduct cross-cultural and race relations training for councillors and staff by March 31, 2010, was approved. The county’s human resources department is exploring the cost and source of training. “We want to get out to the community and let them know what we’re doing and that we want their support,” Brothers says about the launch. She hopes for a wide representation and diversity at the event.

Brothers hopes to attend the annual conference of the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination next year to report on the activities of the Kings County committee. She also plans to take a resolution from the county to the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities conference in Halifax in November, calling on all municipalities to join the coalition.

About the guest speakers…

Walter Newton was born in Florida and moved to Nova Scotia at age 14, when his stepfather returned home to take over the family farm in Steam Mill. His life was changed by polio in 1955. He graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1967 and has practiced law in Kentville for 41 years. Newton has been awarded both the Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilee medals for community service. He was the founding president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kings County and is a long-time board member of the Kings County Branch of the Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia and Crosbie House Society. Newton was also part owner of the Windjammers basketball team.

Chief Lawrence Paul was born in New Brunswick and moved to Nova Scotia when he was eight years old. He lived in a community without running water and indoor plumbing, pledging to make life better for his family and community. He became chief of the Millbrook First Nation in 1984 and has since taken the community to a level where economic development and social programs flourish. In addition to many other honours and awards, Paul has received the Queen’s Jubilee Award, the Aboriginal Inclusion Award for Corporate Relations and was recently presented with the CANDO Economic Developer of the Year Award.

Dr. O. Igho Natufe is a professor of political science and international relations in Canadian Ghanaian and Nigerian Universities. He has more than 28 years’ experience in policy analysis and planning in the federal government and has advised on critical issues as an ethnic consultant for the secretary of state. He is the senior policy advisor for the federal government’s Science and Policy Integration Department. Natufe received a 2006 NRCAN Merit Award for employment equity and diversity.