A look at decisions made by Whitehorse city council at its Dec. 12 meeting.
Inclusivity advisory committee may soon be at work
Eight members of the City of Whitehorse’s first inclusivity advisory committee could soon be at work in their new roles.
At Whitehorse city council’s Dec. 12 meeting, members passed the first two readings of a bylaw to establish the committee. Members also agreed, once the bylaw is adopted, to appoint the first eight members to a two-year term.
Shonagh McCrindle, Ramesh Ferris, Nancy Kidd, Stace Burnard, Pawan Bhardwaj, Christina Zahar, Bill Bruton and Sharlaina Bain will be appointed to the committee, provided the bylaw passes.
“Each of these potential members brings extensive experience in the areas of inclusivity and diversity from a variety of perspectives related to the committee mandate,” Lindsay Schneider, the city’s director of people and culture, said.
The terms of reference for the group was approved earlier this year with staff directed to begin the application process to find members.
The committee will focus on issues around inclusivity and diversity, making recommendations to council.
“Within the first year of its mandate, council will expect the committee to present recommendations regarding means to improve social inclusion and encourage diversity within the City of Whitehorse with specific focus on city programs, services and responsibilities,” Schneider said.
Along with the bylaw for the inclusivity committee, council also made changes to the housing and land development advisory committee to reflect the current membership.
On flags, proclamations and crosswalks
City flag raisings, proclamations and the installation of decorative sidewalks in Whitehorse are now subject to new and updated policies.
At Whitehorse city council’s Dec. 5 meeting, council approved amendments to the city’s flag protocol policy and proclamation policy along with adopting a new crosswalk policy.
The flag and proclamation policies set out the processes for flags to be raised and proclamations to be declared by the city. The crosswalk policy sets out similar procedures for the painting of crosswalks to mark causes.
Updates to the flag policy include adding protocol for the display of First Nations government flags in front of city hall and in council chambers, and incorporate the federal half-mast schedule and the city’s special occasion schedule.
Meanwhile, amendments to update the proclamation policy include amended procedures for public requests, updating the annual list of proclamations to reflect suggestions by council, and the inclusion of the annual proclamations as a schedule to the policy. The annual list will come forward to council each year for confirmation and potential changes.
Speaking to the new crosswalk policy, Valerie Braga, the city’s director of corporate services, stated in an earlier report to council: “The city has installed several decorative crosswalks in response to community requests and global events. Many municipalities have adopted decorative crosswalk policies in order to formalize the request process and cost-sharing arrangements for groups making the request.”
Under the policy, groups requesting a decorative crosswalk will split the cost with the city.
Townhouse development moves forward
Plans by the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council to build a 24-unit townhouse development in Whistle Bend took a step forward at Whitehorse city council’s Dec. 12 meeting when council approved the subdivision of a 1.45-hectare parcel of land for the project.
The decision comes after council approved the rezoning in November that took the site on Witch Hazel Drive from a future planning designation to a townhouse designation.
The First Nation is also planning to add a road, lane and buffer as part of the development.
