Chatham-Kent's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice Strategy

Join Community Living Chatham-Kent on December 5th to hear Michael Jacques' incredible presentation!

December 5, 2025. Two presentation times: 3:00-4:00PM or 6:00-7:00PM.

Register before December 1st by contacting Natalie Jansen njansen@clc-k.ca

Diagnosed with autism and an intellectual disability at a young age, Michael has always embraced challenges head-on. Now an author, public speaker, and activist, he shares his life's journey to foster understanding, acceptance, and a sense of belonging. In 2018, he self-published his first book, Can't Read, Can't Write, Here's My Book, written using speech-to-text technology. Two years later, he co-authored I Belong: Can I Play? with Heather Gals, a children's book aimed at promoting inclusion. Michael's work inspires audiences of all ages, reminding us that everyone has a place and voice in the world.

Join CK Pride for their yearly candle lighting ceremony on Nov 20^th at noon at the Civic Centre to celebrate trans and gender-diverse communities and honour the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Please reach out if you need support:

Trans Lifeline (peer support) Home - Trans Lifeline

Additional supports list: Supports – CK Pride

CK Public Health, working with The Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) project presents Do Ontarians have the Alcohol Policies they deserve? Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) Results for Ontario

Alcohol use is a cause of substantial health, social and financial harms. The Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) is an ongoing research project that provides rigorous assessments of the existence of evidence-based provincial, territorial, and federal alcohol policies in Canada to reduce harm from alcohol use. This 60-minute session will present the latest CAPE results for Ontario, focusing on alcohol policies related to pricing and taxation, health and safety messaging, and alcohol strategies. The presentation will briefly touch on equity impacts of policies, the current situation of expanding access to alcohol in Ontario and will provide recommendations for strengthening Ontario’s alcohol policies. There will be dedicated time for questions.

Presenters: Tina Price, Dr. Adam Sherk, Dr. Norman Giesbrecht

Learn more or register on EventBrite.

The Chatham-Kent Asian Cultural Association cordially invites all Chatham-Kent residents and families to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights that symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

November 16, 2024, Ursuline College, 85 Grand Ave W, Chatham

5:15 - 6:15 PM Special Dinner (cost and registration required)

7:00 - 10:00 PM Diwali Events

Community children's programs, DJ, Indian Music (by Kiruthika), Bollywood Dances, Bangra Dance Performances, Chenda Melam, Folks Dances

RSVP and learn more on their google form.

Dinner

Pre-order and payment in advance required for dining.

$20 per adult

$15 for 12-18 years of age

Under 10 free

Payments, etransfer to ckaca.events@gmail.com

Chatham-Kent Public Library and Chatham-Kent Local Immigration Partnership are excited to welcome award-winning author and storyteller, Rukhsana Khan, to our community.

Rukhsana will be speaking at the Chatham Cultural Centre on Monday, November 18, with two presentation times: 10:00 am or 12:30 pm. All are welcome to attend.

Rukhsana has published 15 books, including two children's books, "Rabia's Eid" and "Honk Honk Beep Beep Putter Putt!", that came out this year. In 2013, her book "Big Red Lollipop" was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the 100 greatest children’s books in the last 100 years. She also wrote a short story that is included in the 2020 anthology "Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices." Many of Rukhsana's titles are available in CKPL's catalogue, search.ckpl.ca.

Rukhsana was born in Lahore, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada at the age of three. She grew up bullied in a small town and read books to survive. Rukhsana has appeared on television, radio and been featured at festivals around the world. She lives in Toronto with her husband and family.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts in offering this event.

To find out more about programs and events at Chatham-Kent Public Library, visit www.ckpl.ca.

In partnership with the Municipality’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Coordinator, Chatham-Kent Public Library is pleased to host Dean M. Jacobs at Chatham Branch (120 Queen St.) on Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 pm.

Mr. Jacobs, with Walpole Island First Nation’s Heritage Centre, will speak about local pre-Confederation Treaties and what they mean for advancing “Truth and Reconciliation” based on mutual trust and respect. Hear how far we’ve come, who is being left behind, challenges and future opportunities. Learn how Walpole Island First Nation navigates today’s realities as a sovereign Nation asserting Indigenous governance while appreciating the importance of relationship to land, honouring Treaties, and the value of meaningful partnerships.

All are welcome to attend this presentation.

Treaties Recognition Week honours the importance of Treaties and helps students and residents of Ontario learn more about Treaty rights and relationships. By learning more about our collective Treaty rights and obligations, we can create greater understanding and nurture relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples and communities.

For more information about Treaties Recognition Week, visit www.ontario.ca and for more information on library programs and services, visit www.ckpl.ca. For more information about the Municipality of Chatham-Kent’s initiatives to promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice visit www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/deij

Date: October 31, 2024
Time: 12:30 pm – 3 pm
Where: Studio One, Cultural Centre - 75 William Street North

A light refreshment will be provided.

Space is limited. Please register by Eventbrite

Join us for the Understanding Migration Workshop delivered by the Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto through their Opening Doors Project.

This workshop introduces participants to the complexities of migration and explores some of the social factors that shape the settlement process for newcomer and immigrant communities such as language, income disparity, housing, loss of status, and discrimination among others. It will encourage participants to move away from a single narrative of migration and see the great diversity that characterizes the experiences of newcomers and immigrants in Canada.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define: Migration, immigration, emigration and other migration-related terminology
• Understand: Reasons people migrate illustrated through push and pull factors
• Unpack: The ethnic diversity in Canada
• Identify: Changing migration patterns, factors impacting the settlement process and the connection between migration and mental health
• Challenge: Migration narratives through a true and false activity

The Chatham Catholic Truth & Reconciliation Action Table, part of the Chatham Catholic Family of Parishes, invite the public to a special series of “Listening Circles” to listen and learn from local Indigenous community members.

The series will take place on Sundays November 10, 17, 24 and December 1, 2024 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM at St. Ursula Church.

No registration required.

Learn more at the Chatham Catholic Family of Parishes Truth and Reconciliation webpage.

We are pleased to share with you the 2023-2027 Human Resources (HR) Strategies, which include the People and Culture Strategy, Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHW) Strategy, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Strategy!

We appreciate the collaboration and input many employees and partners have provided tour team since 2021 to develop these Strategies.

Many action items have already been started and many more are on the horizon to achieve our objectives by 2027.

We look forward to sharing the Municipality’s progress and celebrating accomplishments along this path of continuous improvement!