Red Deer councillor withdraws notice of motion for community perspectives advisory committee

Red Deer councillor withdraws notice of motion for community perspectives advisory committee

Published 5:30 pm Tuesday, September 15, 2026

A Red Deer councillor has withdrawn a notice of motion that originally centred around the potential of creating an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

By the time councillors were discussing the notice of motion at a regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15, it was reworded to instead explore the potential of a “Community Perspectives Advisory Committee.”

“Having diverse perspectives leads to innovative solutions. This is what we desperately need because we are facing a lot of complex issues on this council,” said Coun. Tristin Brisbois, who brought the motion forward.

“The purpose of the motion is to say, ‘Can we ask administration to look at whether there’s value to having this type of resource available to council?’ And whether a committee is even the best mechanism and what’s the best model for that.’”

Multiple councillors referenced negative emails and calls they received regarding the original notice of motion. Brisbois said she did not expect the term “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” to cause “so much backlash.”

“People are thinking about it in terms of policy changes and filling quotas. This is not what this is about. It’s about bringing different perspectives, different lived experiences from across our community,” she said.

“Everywhere it said ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’ you can switch that out from ‘community perspectives,’ because the motion was just asking to look at if that would be of value to council.”

Coun. Kraymer Barnstable said it would make more sense to start another notice of motion from scratch instead of “trying to rebrand a notice of motion because of negative community feedback.”

“If it were to come back at a different time or we have a different conversation about what this wording actually means then I could have a second look at it. But the way it’s been presented feels like a bit of a bait and switch,” said Barnstable.

Coun. Jaelene Tweedle said she felt the intent behind the notice of motion “has completely changed” and didn’t focus enough on anti-racism.

“I think for us to back away because it’s an uncomfortable conversation to have doesn’t do anyone any good,” said Tweedle.

“I understand that ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ triggers some people. It does not trigger me, but it may trigger others for different reasons. … Whether this exists under a committee or (an outside group), I think we need to have these discussions. We need to use the word ‘racism’ and not be afraid to use it.”

Brisbois withdrew the notice of motion following council’s discussion.