Diversity Committee Requests More Consultation

The city's Diversity Committee is asking for more consultation.

A meeting was held Wednesday to discuss next steps after the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County (MCC) decided to withdraw its proposal to lead a community anti-racism initiative because it has become "political and divisive."

Speaking on AM800's The Morning Drive, Mayor Drew Dilkens says the next step is to come back to city council.

"Council could decide what to do with the recommendation from the committee and I expect that we probably will, we will go out and do a wide-spread consultation but we're going to make sure that we do it right."

Dilkens hopes as part of further consultation, they'll go to every diverse community they can think of.

"Then we'll decide how to spend the money," he continued. "It's going to take a whole lot longer and it's going to cost more money because how they're talking about hiring a facilitator."

At the end of the day, Dilkens says this is about doing good things.

"This is city council's recognition that we have a role to play and they've set aside a pool of money to be able to try and make a difference in our community with some of the things we were seeing happening and we are committed to continue to do good things," Dilkens said.

Back in July, Windsor City Council approved spending $200,000 for an Anti-Racism Awareness Campaign, Training Initiatives, Internships and Mentorships, Bursaries and Scholarships, Development Grants and Heritage Interpretation and Storytelling.