In the blog entry that comes immediately before this one, I omitted specifically naming Palestine and Palestinian people.

The blog entry is written in such a way that it may appear that I conflate being Muslim with being Palestinian or – even worse – that I do not care about or recognize Palestinian people, their trauma and grief, and the genocide being committed against them.

Continue reading “Genocide and anti-Palestinian racism” →

Last week, we made decisions at a Regional Council meeting that were unpopular with the people who were present and in the wider community and also that provided relief for many people in the wider community.

A colleague presented a motion that was causing division in our communities in Niagara, and – because of that – Council made a 26-2 decision to remove the item from the agenda.

Continue reading “Trauma-informed decision-making” →

Within the last 24 hours, I’ve begun to receive e-mails asking/demanding/begging that I second a motion being brought forward by one of my colleagues.

I will first note that I have not been asked by the mover of the motion to second the motion, and it is extremely rare for a Councillor to bring a motion without having a seconder lined up (or having asked someone to second the motion).

As I am wont to do, I’m going to be extremely frank.

Continue reading ““Support for Israelis and Palestinians Living in Niagara” motion – January 25, 2024 Council meeting” →

Over the last several years, we’ve all witnessed the escalation of hate and intolerance to which elected officials and journalists, especially if they are women, gender- and/or sexually-diverse people, racially-marginalized people, or disabled people, have been subjected. At a July meeting of the Region’s Corporate Services Committee, I ended up speaking about some of what I’ve experienced over the last five years. Councillor Redekop offered to work with me to write a motion to try to address some of what I and elected officials across the province and country have been having to deal with.

This morning, this motion passed at Corporate Services Committee (not unanimously). See below for the motion, how the votes turned out, and my comments.

Continue reading “Motion – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the Damaging Impacts of Hate and Intolerance” →

They’re not emergencies and they’re certainly not emergencies under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9.

Let’s begin with a couple of definitions…

Continue reading “Homelessness, mental health, and addictions are crises” →