Special Regional meeting with the Niagara Regional Police on diversity, equity, and inclusion set to resume
Regional Council set to resume meeting dealing with the issues of racism and policing.
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Niagara Region will look at the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion concerning the Niagara Regional Police (NRP) Thursday.
The meeting is a continuation of a special session on the same subject on July 23 but was adjourned before it reached its conclusion.
The meeting ran out of time because council’s regular meeting was set to begin at 6:30 p.m. the same night.
The meeting on equity and inclusion heard from more than a half dozen residents, who detailed their experiences and interactions with police.
Thursday’s meeting has just two delegations scheduled. One speaker, Herman Omilgoituk of Welland, had technical difficulties and didn’t get a chance to speak. The meeting is being held remotely.
The only officials in the council chamber are Regional Chair Jim Bradley and some senior Regional staff. At the first meeting, they were joined by Niagara Regional Police Chief Bryan MacCulloch, and members of the police board, including Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele and provincial appointee Tara McKendrick, who is also an executive director with the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Saleh Waziruddin of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association spoke at the first one and has new information.
The issue of systematic racism has been a point of contention.
MacCulloch has said his senior leadership team is committed to undertaking a review of all NRP policies for systemic racism.
“We know systemic racism can manifest itself in policies and procedures that may be neutral, but in reality can disadvantage marginalized members in society,” MacCulloch said in an interview after the meeting. “That’s our commitment to the public and our community. We will undertake that review.”
For some, the pledge doesn’t go far enough.
Waziruddin said that while MacCulloch has acknowledged that systemic racism existed in the institution of policing, he stopped short of acknowledging it exists in the NRP.
Waziruddin said the “stubborn refusal to admit to something very basic” is messaging that denies the NRP has any connection to the need for police reforms elsewhere.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik has given the council a notice of motion for the meeting.
His motion, which he reiterated is only a starting point, is open for amendments, and has nine parts, some of which the chief answered in detail at the beginning of the meeting.
The motion includes a request about establishing an independent, third-party process to review interactions between the NRP and Niagara residents and an analysis of the implications of what a zero percent budget increase. It also requests “an actionable plan” for mental health calls in line with guidance and recommendations from the Canadian Mental Health Association.
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