Launch of the Coalition (June 1, 2007)
Launch of the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination (June 1, 2007)
In Calgary on June 1, 2007, 13 municipalities from across Canada formed a coalition and signed a declaration against racism and discrimination.
Also on June 1, at a meeting chaired by the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission's Director of Education and Community Services, representatives of signatory municipalities, partners and funders held the first administrative meeting of the coalition. The Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission, a member of the Pan-Canadian Working Group played a leadership role in organizing and hosting both meetings; also involved from the working group were the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the City of Calgary and the City of Toronto.
Five (5) of the Coalition's 13 founding signatory municipalities are from Alberta, the most of any provincial jurisdiction in Canada at the time the coalition was launched. This reflects the strong commitment by Alberta municipalities to these goals. The founding signatory municipalities from Alberta are:
- Brooks,
- Calgary
- Drayton Valley,
- Edmonton, and
- the Regional Municipality of Wood-Buffalo, including Fort McMurray.
Charlach Mackintosh, chief commissioner, attended the founding meeting and accepted a copy of the declaration on behalf of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA), the umbrella group for human rights commissions across Canada. CASHRA was the first national organization to endorse the Coalition and is one of two national organizations recognized on the declaration. Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commissioner Diane Colley-Urquhart was also at the founding meeting in her capacity as Calgary Alderman.
Read the June 1, 2007 news release and backgrounder about the launch of the coalition.
Read the founding declaration (June 1, 2007).
Chief commissioner and CASHRA representative Charlach Mackintosh, Secretary-General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO David Walden, Chairman Joe Ceci, representatives of the 13 signatory municipalities and representatives of the Canadian Race Relation Foundation, with the signed declaration, at the national launch of the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination. Photo credit: City of Calgary
Director of Education and Community Services, Cassie Palamar, with Secretary-General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO David Walden, and members of the Pan-Canadian Working Group at the launch of the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination.
Reviewed: May 5, 2010
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