Gavin Gunter provided an update on behalf of subcommittee #1 and advised that he would be circulating a draft of the interim report to Council. He talked about some of the key themes that have emerged thus far, and provided a preliminary overview of the structure of the report. Gavin advised he would lead compiling the report together for the Task Force, and reminded all subcommittees to provide their relevant sections to include with the report.
Leslie Serieux and Jerisha Grant-Hall provided an update on behalf of subcommittee #2. Leslie advised that they are working on summarizing their thoughts for the interim report. Jerisha advised of the key themes that have emerged from the survey and that may form part of the Task Force's recommendations to Council: 1. Black Leadership (Council representation, employment, recruitment, hiring, promotion and retention); 2. Education (campaign, awareness, training); 3. Black youth (mentorship and pathway planning); 4. Community engagement; 5. Representation and recognition; 6. Culture change; 7. Income inequality/disparity; 8. Support for Black-owned businesses; 9. Town policies and procedures; 10. Cross-municipal and Cross sector work (Town working with York Regional Police, School Boards and other municipalities); 11. Acknowledgement and mechanism for reporting and accountability; 12. Periodic townhalls and surveys; 13. Internal Town equity, diversity and inclusion committee; and, 14. Policing practices.
Holly Douglass provided an update on behalf of subcommittee #3 and acknowledged their review of the survey results also echoed issues surrounding education, a lack of sense of belonging, and affordability and accessibility of programming services.