The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) will be back in town next month.
Ontario Human Rights Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane first visited Timmins in March.
On the four-day visit, the group met with community leaders from groups in Timmins, Monteith and Moosonee. At the time, the goal was to return in about a year to provide human rights training for local agencies.
In an interview after the trip, however, the Canadian Press reported that she said racism appears to be normalized in the city and that her group got “the sense that there is a pervasive level of racism that Indigenous people experience in Timmins.”
The comment opened up a discussion in the city, and some of the training is taking place sooner than expected.
In an email, OHRC acting issues and media relations officer Vanessa Tamburo said they are “pleased to have found an opportunity to return to the conversations in June.”
The visit is scheduled to start with a private meeting with civic and Indigenous leaders June 18.
Tamburo said they'll “discuss next steps in terms of advancing reconciliation and protecting the human rights of Indigenous people who live and/or access services in Timmins.”
Two public sessions are also planned.
“We will be hosting Taking it Local: An Update on Human Rights along with the City of Timmins on June 19. This free one-day event features plenary and concurrent sessions on a variety of human rights topics. Featured speakers include guests from the OHRC, the City of Timmins and other community leaders,” she wrote.
“Taking it Local is part of our regular outreach and education activities. We host, on average, two of these large-scale events a year in cities across Ontario.”
The session is taking place at the McIntyre Community Centre from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The full program is available here.
June 20 there will be a free education session to talk about human rights protection for practicing Indigenous spirituality.
Details for the education session aren’t available yet, however people interested in attending the June 19 workshop can register here.
