Preserving the cultural mosaic

Creating a vibrant and inclusive city is the on-going mission for the City of Greater Sudbury’s Diversity Advisory Panel.

Formed in 2004 with representatives from five core areas — francophone, multi-cultural, aboriginal, youth and community-at-large — with a budget of $26,000, it stands poised to walk the talk.

“This city has so much to offer and that includes diversity,” said Leonard Kim, chair for the Diversity Advisory Panel.

March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which not only encourages diversity, just as the Diversity Advisory Panel does, but also memorializes March 21, 1960, the day police in Sharpeville, South Africa opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid "pass laws".

The United Nations General Assembly first proclaimed the day in 1966, calling on the international community to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

During March Break, the city played host to thousands of Aboriginal families for the Little Native Hockey League, and panel members extend a warm welcome to visitors with a breakfast at Tom Davies Square.

The panel has worked hard over the years to address discrimination towards Aboriginal people in the city. Sudbury offers a thriving Aboriginal community with better services and more cultural events, including the annual Northern Aboriginal Festival that takes place at the Sudbury Community Arena.

Aside from creating a more inclusive community for those who live here, the City of Greater Sudbury has been on a mission to attract newcomers to the city for many years now, a mission in which the panel plays a key role.

In 2011, Scott Fischer, past chair of the diversity advisory panel and project co-ordinator for the local immigration partnership with the city, released the report, Creating a Sanctuary for New Citizens. The report cited a trend that is seeing newcomers to Canada choosing smaller communities, rather than larger centres like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, as a first choice.

This is good news for the city, particularly as the mining sector experiences an extended boom. Several mines are expected to open in the far north in the next few years, and the announcement from Vale that its $2-billion Clean AER project is going ahead, is some of the economic activity bringing a diversity of workers and their families to the city.

One recent initiative the panel undertook was to increase the availability of ethnic foods in local grocery stores.

“Food is so directly connected to culture,” Kim said. “We all have comfort foods that we enjoyed with our families growing up, yet it can be difficult to go to a grocery store in Sudbury and find all the ingredients we need to make a favourite dish.

The lack of accessibility to ethnic foods can serve as a barrier to people considering relocating to Sudbury, Kim added. That can discourage people from even taking the crucial next step, to choose Sudbury as the place to settle. The committee discussed the issue and decided to draft a letter and send it to grocery stores around the city.

“This benefits all of us,” Kim said. “It raises the quality of life for some, but it also broadens the perspective of those not from diverse cultures.”

A key component of the panel's mission is the idea that there is tremendous potential for Sudbury to be a community that embraces all people, at the same time as it nurtures an environment for long term prosperity.

Posted by Arron Pickard