Click on the image above to download the May calendar of dates important to communities in Chatham-Kent. Click on the text in the calendar to learn more about each date.

If you are printing the calendar, please print on Legal size paper.

If you are sharing with partners, please use our external website version.

Please contact us if you notice dates missing or errors DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

If you are planning an event for Cinco de Mayo, please review our resource about respectful Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

How to Use the DEIJ Calendar

Use this calendar to inform programming, scheduling, and to better understand colleagues and communities we serve.

Other ways to use this calendar:

• Avoid scheduling events (for staff or community) on days important to communities in CK to ensure everyone can participate and show respect for each other.
• Supervisors: People may ask for time off or for flexibility to honour some of these dates. Employers have a duty to accommodate employee's creed to the point of undue hardship, including providing time off for religious holidays. Learn more from the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Remember that outside of these holidays, people may have regular prayer or reflection practices. For example, Friday afternoons are a significant time of prayer for some people of Muslim faith.

We encourage you to get to know your team - find out what days and holidays are important to each other, if and how these days should be acknowledged.

Outlook Calendar

Did you know you can access more information about each date through a DEIJ Outlook calendar?

To get access to the calendar, email DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or call x. 2447

Community Events:

You may want to participate in community events related to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice:

• May 3-5 there are community events in honour of National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Learn more on the DEIJ Employee Portal.
• May 29 the Accessibility Advisory Committee is encouraging people to wear red for Easter Seal’s Red Shirt Day of Action for Accessibility and Inclusion.

We post information about community events throughout the month in the 'Engage' section of the DEIJ Employee Portal.

The Sikh Community of Chatham-Kent invites the community to the celebration of the 325th Khalsa Sajna Diwas and the first Nagar Kirtan (Sikh Religious Parade) in CK.

The event is April 28, 2024, from 10 am – 2 pm.

The parade starts at Gurdwara Sikh Lehar International (210 King St. E. Chatham) at 10 am. The Sangat will travel along King Street, turning right on William Street and into Tecumseh Park for more celebrations until 2 pm.

Learn about Nagar Kirtan (Sikh Religious Parades)
Etiquette tips from Learn Religion (article). The root of the parades from Basics of Sikhi on YouTube (video).

Learn about Khalsa Sajna Diwas and Vaisakhi

World Sikh Organization (article) or Basics of Sihki on YouTube (video).

In honour of National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, several events will be held March 3-5 in Chatham-Kent.

All events are open to everyone.

Wear red to show your support (i.e. shirt, coat, pin - not a red dress).

About The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Also called Red Dress Day, the day honours and brings awareness to the disproportionate violence that Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit people face in Canada.

The red dress was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, in which she hung empty, red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women.

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls found that, in Canada:

• Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit people are 12x more likely to go missing or be murdered than all other women, and 16x more likely than Caucasian women.
• In the last 30 years, more than 4000 Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit people have gone missing or been murdered. That’s about 133 a year or 3 a week.
• Because of persistent forms of oppression (racism, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism), complaints about missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and Women, are less likely to be taken seriously or followed up.

The National Inquiry led to 231 Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries, and all Canadians.

Supports

This day may be triggering for some people. Help is available.

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls toll-free support phone line (24/7) 1-844-413-6649

Hope for Wellness Help Line (24/7) 1-855-242-3310

Learn More

Read the final report and Calls for Justice from the MMIWG National Inquiry on the National Inquiry website

Visit the National Family and Survivors Circle website

Visit the Amnesty International No More Stolen Sisters website

Find book, video and podcast recommendations on Simon Fraser University’s website

Learning about, understanding, and appreciating cultures that are different than our own is an important part of promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

As we approach Cinco de Mayo, an important day in Mexican history, we are sharing recommendations to ensure events acknowledging the day are rooted in cultural appreciation.

Click on the image below to view the resource.

Please reach out to Rebecca, Coordinator, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, if you have questions, comments, or feedback on the resource or questions about an event you are planning DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447.

Monday, April 22, 12:10-1:00PM

PABC 224 or Teams (Hybrid)

Please register ahead by contacting Rebecca DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

Light snacks provided. Please bring a lunch if you would like.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is growing due to immigration. As more people move to Chatham-Kent, join colleagues with lived experiences and from Community Attraction and Promotion to learn about LivingCK resources and how to be supportive of newcomers to Chatham-Kent in the workplace and community.

Open to all municipal employees.

Panelists:

Çağla, Waste Management

Chuda, Employment and Social Services

Melissa, Employment and Social Services

Nissam, Information Technology and Transformation

Olamide, CK Public Health

Teresa, Community Attraction and Promotion

March is Nutrition Month and we can't talk about that without also talking about Food Insecurity.

1 in 5 households in Chatham-Kent do not have enough money to buy food. That's 20% of the community who must decide between paying their bills or buying food.

The 2023 Cost of Eating Infographic shows the monthly cost of eating in CK and the numbers show that current social assistance programs are not enough.

View the entire infographic at: www.ckpublichealth.com/foodinsecurity

Monday, March 25, 12:10-1:00PM

PABC 224 or Teams (Hybrid)

Please register ahead by contacting Rebecca DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

Light snacks provided. Please bring a full lunch if you would like.

Despite progress made over the past decades, women, and especially women with identities that have historically been marginalized, remain under-represented across every level of the corporate structure in organizations across Canada. Women face multiple barriers to participation and promotion in the workplace.

Join colleague Emily Crawford, Solicitor in Legal Services, for an open discussion about the experiences of women and how we can support women in our own workplace.

This session is open to everyone. We encourage people from all divisions to attend, including aspiring allies of women in the workplace.

This year, Ramadan will be observed from about March 10th - April 9th. Learn about Ramadan and how to be supportive of colleagues during this important time for people who are Muslim through the resource below.

This resource is intended for Municipal employees.

A video is up on our public DEIJ website with tips for how businesses and organizations can support colleagues and community members honouring Ramadan. Please feel free to share that post and video.

Have questions or feedback about the resource? Contact the DEIJ Coordinator DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or .2447

Click on the image below to view the resource.