I have been working with municipal government in Canada for almost 20 years. Most of those years I have been doing service or organizational reviews of one type or another. Lately, most of those reviews have been in the context of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism (DEIAA).
With every new client the first steering committee meeting starts with some version of:
“Well, you have to understand that we are unique. Our politicians are not on the same path as administration. Our systems are old-fashioned. We have issues with recruitment or retirement.”
I was cleaning up some old binders and came across these two PowerPoint slides from the very distant past (VERY distant past). They are so old I had to scan them. And yet, somehow they are timeless.
Government, and particularly local government, is almost by its nature kind of sclerotic. It moves stiffly and slowly and often for good reason. I don’t want my local government rushing to build useless legacy projects while ignoring basic infrastructure because it is politically popular. I want them to take time to decide whether to pave a greenfield or build a freeway through a neighbourhood.
But one topic I do want them to move fast on is recognition that the community is not what it once was and maybe never was. I want them to understand that their romantic version of history is not necessarily reality. I want them to welcome difference and diversity sooner rather than later.
The issues that cause municipal government to be sclerotic for good reasons can also make it sclerotic when it shouldn’t be.
These slides are a reminder to me that while each municipality is unique, they are also the same in pretty important ways.
So if you are on a DEIAA journey and you are feeling frustrated, you can rest assured that you are not alone and you have colleagues who can help.
The work of human rights and dignity is never one and done. It starts again every morning. Have faith. Others are on the same journey.
