Greater Toronto

By William Doyle-Marshall
Senior ranks of the Toronto Police Service headed by Chief William Blair and Police Services Board Chair Alok Mukherjee joined in the Holiday Celebration of Diversity at Police Headquarters downtown Toronto last Friday. Deputy Chief Peter Sloly, Superintendent Rick Stubbings and Superintendent Mario Di Tommaso were among celebrants. A cross section of the South and West Asian and other communities assembled for the occasion hosted by the Community Mobilisation Unit.
Dr. Mukherjee said the gathering was to rejoice in and honour the many diverse religions and cultural festivals that are and will be taking place during this holiday season.
"This is an occasion when we celebrate our collective commitment to our community. It was an occasion to re-enforce the thriving sense of community and the cultural awareness share in Toronto."
Performances by the Toronto Ismaili Muslim Youth Choir and a sumptuous dinner of traditional Indian dishes were part of the celebration observing Eid, Diwali, Gurpurb and Christmas under the theme "Working Together To Achieve Excellence".
Consular representatives included Trinidad and Tobago Consul General Vidhya Gyan Tota-Maharaj; Malaysian Trade Commissioner Morzihan Mohd Zain; Olaf Coym from the Consulate General of the Republic of Germany and Retired Justice of the Peace Arthur Downes, former Honourary Consul for the Republic of Guinea.
Chief Blair embraced consultative committee members for contributing to a positive environment in the city as they work together to make Toronto a better city. "Thanks for being our friends," Blair added.
"We are so blessed to live in such a diverse city; we are so blessed to live in a society where people from all cultures can come together in respect and to celebrate together. And what a difference it makes in the quality of our lives. In the Toronto Police Service we have been doubly blessed because we have had the best community partners," he continued.
Superintendent Rick Stubbings Co-Chair of the South and West Asian consultative committee congratulated 18 youth coordinators who are currently involved in a Hand in Hand Youth and Police Mentorship Programme launched last year. They volunteer Saturday nights to work with younger ones.
Consultative committees play an integral role in maintaining valued and trusted relationship, he admitted. Monthly children, youth and police, gather together to discuss various issues. Among them are cyber bullying, elder abuse, personal safety, gang violence, family violence, multiculturalism, diversity, newcomer resources and pedestrian safety. Building trust and confidence in the police and with the community are the focus. The undertaking would not be possible without the many dedicated partners and volunteers, Superintendent Stubbings noted.
Zul Kassamali, the civilian co-chair emphasized that community youth has the responsibility of continuing the heritage established by the adults. "We have done whatever we could. What are you going to do about it now? So it is upon your shoulders. We are leaving it to you. Help us continue the legacy and let's work all together," Kassamali advised
"This evening offers the chance to celebrate the many achievements the community and the Toronto Police Service made towards mutual understanding, acceptance of each other and a continued growth of our valuable relationship ," Superintendent Di Tommaso observed. He looked forward to continued success of addressing issues of common interest.
Osman Khan, co-chair Muslim Consultative Committee said the community has a role to play with respect to inclusion in the service. He acknowledged members who volunteer to serve the community on the consultative committees and looked forward to continue working with them to make life a bit easy for the people who have put their lives on the line to "serve and protect us".
"Inclusion is an important factor and we believe that if our community is involved directly with processes in the police services then we can achieve a lot," the co-Chair remarked. Consequently, the work of the Muslim Consultative Committee and the South and West Asian Committee embodies the theme of the celebration of diversity. The contributions of the committees have helped make Toronto the culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous city that it is today, Khan observed.
The celebration emerged out of the committees cooperation working together. Because there are issues that affect all communities, the Chief formed consultative committees as a conduit between the service and the community at large, Khan said.