The hiring of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion coordinator was a recent great step because I think the workplace and civic culture we have influences our ability to attract and retain diverse staff. Any bullying and harassment needs to be addressed. I personally feel the treatment of bylaws staff during that department's reorganization did not give the impression that we have a caring organization that lifts up its staff, nor was our treatment of the volunteer group that was managing St. Andrews on the Square abruptly notifying them that they were no longer needed. I've also heard from too many staff with health issues/injuries that were not adequately supported, which leads me to think that we are not offering a workplace for people with diverse abilities in the first place. I would once again like to see us fly the pride flag at City Hall during pride week and act as event sponsors (either monetarily or by waiving permit fees/providing venues), this is absolutely done in other communities. Reconciliation with indigenous peoples is another area we can advance, besides the working relationship with TteS, which is great, but it means real progress on addressing the 200+ people without housing on the streets of Kamloops, 47% of which are indigenous.

While we may not be in charge of any hiring as a Council, besides the CAO, we can set a tone that sends a message about the City of Kamloops being a welcoming, inclusive, and encouraging work environment for all people.