What is the Inclusivity Committee?

    The Inclusivity Committee is an advisory committee formed by Council with the following mandate:  

    The Inclusivity Committee will provide guidance to Town Council and staff on matters and initiatives aimed at making the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake an equitable and inclusive community, enabling residents, workers, and visitors of all races, ethnicities, ages, socioeconomic statuses, genders, exceptionalities, languages, religions, sexual orientations and lifestyles to participate as full and meaningful community members. The Inclusivity Committee will provide general advice and guidance to the Town Council of Niagara-on-the-Lake on all matters related to diversity, equity, and inclusion across the municipality. 

    Besides advising Council and staff, the committee is also interested in exploring inclusivity issues raised by members of the NOTL community. We encourage anyone with a question, concern, or suggestion about inclusivity in NOTL to email us at inclusivity.committee@notl.com  

    Who sits on the Inclusivity Committee?

    Sandra Gruosso, Jamie Knight (Co-chair), Bex McKnight, Richard Mell, Kiera Sangster, Niki Walker (Co-chair), George Webber, and Councillor John Wiens. 

    What does the Inclusivity Committee do?

    The committee provides guidance and feedback to Council and staff on matters relating to inclusivity, including Town policies, bylaws, and motions. It meets formally once a month to discuss any requests forwarded by Council and staff, as well as any issues raised by members of the community. The committee also welcomes delegations from community and business organizations and is interested in fostering partnerships whenever and wherever possible with the goal of expanding inclusiveness in NOTL. 

    What is an inclusive community?

    In September 2020, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, along with the other municipalities that make up Niagara Region, joined the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities and committed to respecting, protecting and promoting human rights and diversity. 

    An inclusive community: 

    • Values diversity, meaning that it welcomes people from a wide range of ages, races, ethnicities, genders, physical and intellectual abilities, religions, sexual orientations, and educational backgrounds. 

    • Respects all its membersgives them full access to resources and decision-making processes, and promotes equal treatment and opportunity. 

    • Works to eliminate all forms of discrimination. 

    • Responds quickly to racist and other discriminatory incidents. 

    What are the goals of the Inclusivity Committee?

    As a newly formed committee with a broad mandate, our goals have been largely foundational: to “take the temperature” of NOTL regarding inclusivity, to build partnerships between the committee and other NOTL organizations, and to advise Council on measures to improve equity and inclusivity. To that end, we have reached out to community and business organizations, completed a public survey, and are undertaking public Focus Groups on DEI issues raised in the survey(Please see the Survey Results - Full Report that went to Council regarding the survey and focus groups for details on the results and recommendations.) Anyone with ideas or concerns related to inclusivity issues in NOTL is encouraged to email the committee to open a dialogue: inclusivity.committee@notl.com  

    How was the Inclusivity Committee formed?

    In response to the Town’s posted request for committee volunteers, members applied and were appointed via the same process used for all Town committees. The membership is comprised of resident volunteers of different ages, genders, races, sexual orientations, lived experiences, and work experience. The committee recognizes, however, that it does not have representation from every marginalized or racialized group in NOTLIt encourages anyone who wants to be heard to reach out via inclusivity.committee@notl.com to open a dialogue