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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 14 ,2 02 1 | 10 2021 BOARD AND COMMITTEE RECRUITMENT TERM ENDING NOVEMBER 2022 The Council of the City of Waterloo invites interested persons to apply for positions on its boards and committees. Volunteering on a committee provides an opportunity to be engaged with matters affecting the community. The City is looking for members that can assist Council in strengthening Waterloo as a diverse and inclusive community. Members of the public may apply for positions on the following committees and boards: • Sustainability Advisory Committee • Town And Gown Committee • Waterloo Advisory Committee On Active Transportation • Waterloo Park Advisory Committee • Waterloo Public Library Board For more information about the committees, eligibility, and to submit an application, please visit the City of Waterloo website at: www.waterloo.ca/committees If you would like a paper or PDF application form or if you wish to speak to our staff about applying to volunteer on a committee, contact Kevin Gerlach at 519-747-8704 or email committees@waterloo.ca Applications will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 18, 2021 P. 519-886-1550 TTY. 1-866-786-3941 waterloo.ca Heating and A/C - 10 yr. Warranty on Parts & Labour New 2 STAGE 96% Furnace Air Conditioning All Seers Top Rated by Consumer Report Fireplaces • Gas Piping All your Mechanical Needs Water Heaters & Softeners Boilers Financing Available O.A.C. IESO Rebates Available 24 Hour Service Available ALLWEATHER AIR SYSTEMS INC. (519) 884-1705 | www.allweatherairsystems.com Water Heaters & Softeners Boilers Financing Available O.A.C. 24 Hour Service Available Heating and A/C - 10 yr. Warranty on Parts & Labour New 2 STAGE 96% Furnace Air Conditioning All Seers Fireplaces • Gas Piping All your Mechanical Needs Top ✓ Heating and A/C - 10 yr. Warranty on Parts ✓ New 2 STAGE 96% Furnace ✓ Air Conditioning All Seers ✓ Fireplaces • Gas Piping ✓ All your Mechanical Needs ✓Water Heaters & Softeners ✓ Plumbing & Electrical ✓ Financing Available O.A.C. ✓ 24 Hour Service Available ✓ Duct Cleaning Will your furnace make it through this coming winter? Your Heating and Air Conditioning Specialists ToT The public school board wants money previously used to pay for police in schools be reallocated and spent on community-based services for children and youth. In a letter to Regional Chair Karen Redman on Oct. 7, Water- loo Region District School Board trustees said they want the mon- ey spent on the former school re- source officer program be used instead on community-based programming. "Our staff look forward to working together to provide these services in consultation with out Indigenous, Black and racialized students and commu- nities," said Waterloo Region Dis- trict School Board school chair Joanne Weston. In June, the school board vot- ed to end the decades-long pro- gram because of the dispropor- tionately negative impact on Black, Indigenous and racialized students. The board ended the program after a review committee collect- ed data from students and schools boards from across the province. Students shared feel- ings of harm, fear and feelings of being surveilled or monitored. The students were dispropor- tionately Black, Indigenous and racialized, and represent the most marginalized students in the system. "We know there are funds not being used. The SRO program in its original form was to support youth," said Weston in an inter- view. "It made sense that the funds should be used in this way," said Weston, who added that funds be used for all underserviced popu- lations including the LGBTQ community. "Reallocating the SRO funding to community based services for youth, will support the students in our community with pro- grams staffed by professionals that have expertise in helping youth in a positive, inclusive en- vironment where they feel com- fortable and welcome," the letter said. Jude Oudshoorn, a member of ReAllocate WR, a group that has called on the region to freeze po- lice budgets and invest in com- munity safety programs that do not involve police officers, ap- plauded the move by the school board. "It's the first of a kind," he said. "I don't recall seeing a public in- stitution take this kind of a stand." "It is really significant when another public institution recog- nizes that it's time for us as a com- munity to think about safety dif- ferently," he said. Oudshoorn said the letter shows that more people are aware that "we need to do com- munity safety differently, apart from police." Oudshoorn said calls to reallo- cate funds often get dismissed when it comes from a small group of community activists. "There is quite a widespread upswing of people who know we have to do things differently and recognize the harm of policing," he said. "It's a punishment sys- tem." "The scale of harm is getting off the charts in terms of system- ic racism and the impact on Black, Indigenous and racialized communities," Oudshoorn said. REALLOCATE MONEY FOR POLICE TO COMMUNITY: PUBLIC BOARD A student packs food bins for delivery to classrooms at Forest Hill Public School. Peter Lee photo LIZ MONTEIRO NEWS MONEY SPENT ON RESOURCE OFFICERS CAN GO TO REGION SERVICES, SAY BOARD TRUSTEES