VANCOUVER- Indigenous activist Scott Clark is taking issue with the composition of a new task force established by the City of Vancouver.
A motion to create the Mayor’s Engaged City Task Force was approved by city council in October, with the aim of increasing neighbourhood engagement. The 22 committee members, who were chosen from 117 applicants, were announced in early December.
“I thought for sure there would be some solid indigenous representation on that,” Clark, the executive director of the Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement Society, told the Straight by phone.
“They’ve got all this research that tells them that we want to be engaged,” he added, noting that the city has conducted dialogue series and done studies on involving vulnerable populations, including immigrants and indigenous communities.
Andrea Reimer, who cochairs the task force with Mayor Gregor Robertson, told the Straight that members were selected through an open call for applications. She noted that the committee is a citizen advisory group, as opposed to a representative committee, for which the city asks organizations to appoint members.
“I would say, if there’s only 22 people trying to represent 620,000, you’re going to have gaps,” she said by phone.
Reimer added that, during the task force’s first informal meeting, members expressed an interest in incorporating the perspectives of groups not represented on the committee.
“It’s important to get to know who’s in the room, but even more important to remember who’s not there, and think about how we’re going to be engaging those people,” she said.
According to the city’s website, priorities of the task force will include enhancing how the city interacts with residents, including immigrants and youth; improving the way it consults with citizens on policy; and increasing municipal voter turnout.
Members of the task force include Creative Mornings host Mark Busse, Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre vice-president Waldo Brino, Vancouver City Planning Commission chair Peter Greenwell, and Dennis Chan, a director of S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
The task force is expected to report to council by June 2013.
Courtesy of Straight.com
