By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg is one of the communities selected by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to mentor another country through its Partnerships for Municipal Innovation – Women In Local Leadership program.
The program's aim is to support initiatives in Benin, Cambodia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Zambia to increase the number of women running for local government and develop more inclusive services that address the needs of their diverse populations.
Municipal Clerk Brent Larmer's report said that the town's application to the program resulted in a December interview, where more information was supplied (such as the town's commitment to women in local government). Larmer thanked Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin and Councillors Nicole Beatty and Emily Chorley for participating in the interview, given their participation in last year's Women In Governance mentoring-and-leadership program.
The town was notified Jan. 27 that it was selected to partner with the Sri Lanka team.
The six-year program is completely funded by Global Affairs Canada with additional in-kind contributions from Canadian municipal experts – meaning no cost to the town.
FCM member municipalities from across the country applied for the program, Larmer said, and only four or five Ontario communities had been chosen – Collingwood being the closest one to Cobourg.
The FCM's selection letter in the council package outlined next steps, with their project manager soon to be in touch to discuss the project delivery model, roles and expectations, estimated level of effort and developing the best collaboration possible.
“The expertise and know-how that your municipality brings to the table is an important and valuable contribution to the proposal that FCM submitted to Global Affairs Canada,” said the letter from FCM President Joanne Vanderhayden.
“I thank you for your involvement and support to the project. We hope that your municipality will find its participation to be a rich and mutually beneficial partnership with other Canadian and international municipalities.”
