Kelowna mayor declares October as community inclusion month

The mayor of Kelowna proclaimed October as community inclusion month on Tuesday.

Inclusion is a topic that mayor Colin Basran feels strongly about, stating inclusion means welcoming everyone in ways that respect and celebrate diversity.

“I think that we should be building a community where everybody feels like they belong,” Basran said.

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The reading of the proclamation formed part of an event on the steps of city hall called in the inclusion chain — an annual event that celebrates the inclusion of people with diverse abilities.

After the proclamation was read, people with different abilities and different backgrounds joined hand-in-hand in a human chain that stretched out on Water Street in front of City Hall and sang the national anthem.

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“Inclusion is extremely important,” said Charisse Daley, executive director at Pathways Abilities Society.

“The people that we provide services they want to work, they want to live in our community, they want to be afforded the same rights as all citizens. So it is making sure that they are welcome.”