Ontario Human Rights Commissioner is Coming Back to Northern Ontario

The Ontario Human Rights Commissioner will be back in Northern Ontario this month.

Renu Mandhane first visited the Timmins in March when she reported that racism appeared to be normalized in the northern community. Timmins Mayor Steve Black says since this came out, the city has been working to fix this by opening up conversations with Indigenous leaders and groups in the area, as well as making a First Nations Advisory Committee. Black says this trip from the Human Rights Commissioner will bring some cultural awareness and human rights training for the region’s leaders and different community groups.

The visit will start with a private meeting on June 18th with civic and Indigenous leaders where they will discuss advancing reconciliation and protecting human rights of Indigenous people in the region.

There will also be two public sessions. On June 19th, there will be a “Taking it Local: An Update on Human Rights and the City of Timmins” free event. The Human Rights Commission says this will feature sessions on a variety oof human rights topics and speakers. This session will run from 8:30am to 4:00pm at the McIntyre Community Centre. The second session will take place on June 20th which will talk about human rights protection for practicing Indigenous spirituality.  The details on that session have yet to be determined. 

Black says this is part of the ongoing conversation that has to be done.

If you want to go to the June 19th workshop, you can register by clicking here.