Barrie City Task Force Co-Chair: Community Inclusion Requires Welcoming Environment for All

The Barrie Anti-Racism Task Force launched its website on January 24th at City Hall. During the event, Mayor Alex Nuttall delivered a speech and the Task Force charged with the website creation gave a presentation.

Nuttall said we want to have a city where “everybody feels included, everyone feels safe and at home, and everybody can find the success that they're looking for.”

The website project started on June 29th, 2020 when the Barrie City Council, then led by then Mayor Jeff Lehman, approved the initiative. The project was sponsored by Barrie Police. Barrie-based Siva Creative donated the website.

“Barrie is no longer what it used to be like 10-15 years ago. A lot of new comers and immigrants have moved in," said Esther Nkoli Enyolu, co-chair of the task force after the event. “So, we want to make the city a welcoming place where everyone here feels a sense of belonging and can contribute to the welfare of the city."

The Task Force worked with police services, school boards, community groups, municipal organizations, social services, businesses, labor and government agencies in order to facilitate an understanding and appreciation of the diverse population in the City of Barrie. 

Cheryl Blondell-King, a Task Force member, said "it becomes more and more important that the agencies - social services, commercial organizations, and other groups -  reflect, understand and appreciate and embrace the city and its diversity." She said the goal is to transition Barrie into an anti-racist city that intentionally addresses racism in all forms and develops initiatives that will move them forward. They hope to do this through dialogue, education, openness and through life experiences.

Another Task Force member Masa Sone said that the task force plans to organize a seminar with the library on racism featuring guest speakers. The seminar will be open to the public, and hopefully will stimulate an evening of lively discussion. “We at the anti racism Task Force take a keen interest in the well being of international students at Georgian College,“ she said and that the task force strongly wishes to work with the "Town and Gown" City Advisory Committee on the issues.

Brandon Wu and Haily MacDonald, members of the Task Force, explained what terms such as race, racial bias, racism, racial discrimination and anti-racism mean. 

Wu said in a perfect world, race would not matter and everyone would be accepting of diversity. “Unfortunately, the reality of our world is that race does matter,” he said.  He continued on by saying that race is socially constructed and how we identify with race and how people identify us based on race can vary. He asked the audience to ponder on a series of questions: Do you personally identify based on race? If so, what terminology do you use or are you familiar with?

MacDonald asked Barrie residents to take an anti-racism pledge. She said the Task Force has identified several focus areas to help people learn more about the different cultures, practices, and beliefs of diverse races in their community. She suggested researching anti-racism resources at the local library, learning about the history of racially diverse peoples across Simcoe County, learning about local treaties, using words and actions to create inclusive spaces, properly pronouncing names and words, attending and promoting culturally diverse events and celebrations, reflecting on local initiatives that promote equity, and checking out the United Nations calendar for important dates.

“When we're talking about racism, we're talking about the power that gives one race benefit over other races, and looking at how those that power plays out in our institutions like City Hall, in the schools, and in universities, and in workplaces,” she said.