Last night at the regular meeting of City of Chestermere Council, Mayor Chalmers reinforced Chestermere’s commitment to fostering inclusion and cultural diversity by announcing that the City is now a member of the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities (CIM).

“In our community, we want an amazing quality of life, amazing opportunities, and amazing neighbourhoods for all our residents.” says Marshall Chalmers, Mayor of Chestermere. “We are very proud to join this network composed of close to 80 Canadian municipalities that outlines how Chestermere will continue to be an amazing home for all.”

The Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities (formerly the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination, or CCMARD) is a network under the Canadian Commission for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (CCUNESCO) that is devoted to meeting 10 common commitments to end racism and discrimination in Canadian communities.

“We have committed to the development of diversity and inclusion policies and can now utilize the CIM toolkit to offer educational opportunities to the community, our partners and City staff,” says Joanne Kinya Mugambi, Diversity and Inclusion Strategist with the City of Chestermere.

Some of these educational opportunities include workshops like the upcoming Dialogues for Diversity series on October 25 and multicultural community events such as the Fall Feast on October 16.

For the first two years of the CIM membership, the City of Chestermere has committed to fulfilling three of the 10 Common Commitments for CIM members and will continue to roll out action plans for the rest of the commitments in the coming years. The three commitments are:

• To increase vigilance against systemic and individual racism and discrimination

• To provide equal opportunities as a municipal employer, service provider and contractor

• To promote respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity and the inclusion of aboriginal and racialized communities into the cultural fabric of the municipality.

“The next step is to create a Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Committee for the City in partnership with Council and community members,” says Mugambi. “Together, the committee will work toward achieving these three goals.”

The City also intends to continue increasing awareness of its Indigenous history and will continue participating in acts of reconciliation in accordance with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action for municipalities.

The City is pleased to participate in the CIM membership as the successful creation of a more welcoming and inclusive community offers several tangible benefits to a municipality. These benefits include, a safer and more cohesive quality of life for residents and placing the City in a better position to attract and retain new residents and businesses.

One of the ways the City has already started to implement these commitments is to provide printed materials in multiple languages and incorporate a Google translate option on all pages of the municipal website. The Council Snapshot report is also available in five additional languages at City Hall.

For more information about upcoming events and activities that support diversity and inclusion in the City, visit chestermere.ca/diversity.