Welcoming City Advisory Committee

Strong communities connect and actively include people of all backgrounds. A Welcoming City can meet its highest civic and economic potential by unleashing the power of its biggest asset – its people. 

Welcoming City Strategy

Informed by community input, the City of Victoria has developed a Welcoming City Strategy to serve as a roadmap to guide Victoria towards becoming a stronger, more inclusive community where everyone, including newcomers, immigrants and refugees, is accepted, respected and feels like they belong. 

The strategy is intended to remove barriers to City services and foster a compassionate and neighbourly community where all residents are encouraged to participate in civic life. 

It is intended to be community owned and focused. Many of the action recommendations are driven with and by community, and in partnership with the City.

Read the: 

Advisory Committee Members 

In November 2021, Council directed staff to work with the community to develop community-driven implementation plans.

Council also invited the Welcoming City Task Force members to continue as members of the Welcoming City Advisory Committee to guide this work. All of the Task Force members chose to stay on as Advisory Committee members.  

Organization  Members 
Member at Large Daniela dos Santos Pinto
Member at Large  Jibril Mohamed
Bayanihan Community Centre  Agnes Myhre
Victoria Immigrant & Refugee Centre Society  David Lau
 Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria  Florentien Verhage
 Chinese Community Services Society  Nora Butz
 International Student  Jefus Godwin-Enwere
 Greater Victoria Public Library  Maureen Sawa
 George Jay School Pac  Sandra Hough
 Victoria Silver Threads  Tracy Ryan
 Songhees Nation  Garry Sam
Esquimalt Nation  Jerome Tjhomas
Societé Francophone Annie Djiotsa
Here in Canada Magazine Kareece Whittle-Brown
VicPD Chief Del Manak 

Terms of Reference

Read the Welcoming City Advisory Committee Terms of Reference [PDF - 125 KB].

Advisory Committee Minutes 

March 1, 2022 [PDF - 128 KB] 
April 5, 2022 [PDF - 128 KB]

May 4, 2022 [PDF - 124 KB]

Background - Welcoming City Task Force 

In 2020, Council appointed a Welcoming City Task Force comprised of community experts with a diversity of perspectives and lived experiences to develop a Welcoming City Strategy. The work of the Task Force is now complete. 

The Task Force led this work with the assistance of consultants and City staff. Sharing their own expertise and lived experience, Task Force members reached out to other community stakeholders through a series of virtual workshops to gather input to inform the Strategy. Mayor Lisa Helps and Councillor Sharmarke Dubow were appointed to serve as non-voting liaisons to the Task Force and co-chaired meetings.

Task Force Meeting Notes

November 16, 2020 [PDF - 147 KB]
November 30, 2020 [PDF - 183 KB]
January 11, 2021 [PDF - 131 KB]
January 25, 2021 [PDF - 231 KB]
February 22, 2021 [PDF - 180 KB]
March 8, 2021  [PDF - 183 KB]
March 22, 2021 [PDF - 128 KB]
April 12, 2021 [PDF - 152 KB]
April 26, 2021 [PDF - 165 KB]
May 17, 2021 [PDF - 136 KB]
May 31, 2021 [PDF - 584 KB]
August 31, 2021 [PDF - 133 KB]