Saugeen Shores has become Canada’s first lower-tier municipality to become Rainbow-Registered.
That means the Town has met a set of standards that ensure 2SLGBTQI+ customers feel safe, welcomed, and accepted.
“I’m really proud of council and our Town staff for making that happen,” Mayor Luke Charbonneau tells Bayshore Broadcasting News.
“It’s a great thing to do because it means organizationally, we want our employees and those who use our services to feel safe,” says Charbonneau.
A release from the Town says, the standards are set by Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce.
Charbonneau says some of the standards the municipality has met to get the accreditation include providing staff with gender neutral bathroom, installing a pride crosswalk and training on equity, diversity and inclusion.
The Town joins the Saugeen Shores Chamber of Commerce, which has also received its accreditation.
Charbonneau notes, “Some other municipalities have one of their departments accredited and I think there’s one county that has the accreditation but we’re the first (lower tier) municipality that has its whole organization accredited.”
“This designation shows that as we grow in diversity, we grow in strength,” says Charbonneau.
According to the Town, council members supported this initiative in May after receiving the Welcoming Communities Action Plan from the Town’s Economic Development office. The Town says, “The goal of that plan is to ensure people from a wide range of groups feel a sense of belonging in Saugeen Shores.”