Canadian Ethnic Media Association

Alok Mukherjee, Chair of the Police Services Board that oversees Canada’s largest police force, that of Metro Toronto, will address CEMA’s Speaker Series on February 4, 2010.  He will be talking, among other things, about the race relations within the force and what is being done vis-a-vis recruitment so that the police represent the city as a whole.

The event will be held at OMNI-TV’s boardroom at 545 Lakeshore Blvd. West at 6 p.m. More details will be posted on this site as the even draws near.

Alok Mukherjee

Most recently, he addressed the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, in a session entitled “Crisis in Canadian Policing.”  His topic was “Let’s Tackle the Mismatches.” To read his presentation on this, please CLICK HERE to access his blog, which also contains other interesting tidbits.

Here is a short bio of the Chair as provided by the Metro Toronto Police Services Board:

Alok Mukherjee has been Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board since September 2005.  He is the first South Asian to occupy this position.  As a Vice President of the Ontario Association of Police Boards and Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Police Boards, Dr. Mukherjee is actively involved in efforts to promote community-based policing under civilian oversight provincially and nationally.  He is frequently called upon to speak on policing issues to a variety of audiences. He brings a unique perspective to law enforcement issues from his experiences in a highly multicultural and multiracial environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto, Nov. 9, 2009 – Multiculturalism is “basic building block in the Canadian identity” and our getting it right “helps the world towards survival,” Member of Parliament Justin Trudeau told members at a specially convened Speaker Series of CEMA.

He told a packed boardroom that unfortunately the current Conservative government “is mistaken in lumping the multicultural portfolio in with immigration.”

Chip of the Old Block: Multiculturalism heir Justin Trudeau... (Photo: Lisa Warner)

Mr. Trudeau, a Liberal Party MP from Quebec, is the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the father of Canadian Multiculturalism and a champion of spurring Canada to broaden its trade and cultural vision from simply south of the border to the rest of the world.

Justin Trudeau told CEMA members that Multiculturalism should be regarded as a collectived set of values and hence becomes a tremendouis strength in building a better life for us all. “There is truth in the phrase ‘the kindness of strangers’”, he said.

“Look at the way our literature has broadened with many new Canadians and Aboriginals as important award winners in the fields of literature and the performing arts,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »