A meeting of Niagara Region’s diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee was recently interrupted after hardcore porn was shared on its members computer screens.
Julie Jocsak St. Catharines Standard file photo
St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip addresses Niagara Region council.
Bob Tymczyszyn St. Catharines Standard file photo
Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley.
Bob Tymczyszyn St. Catharines Standard file photo
Saleh Waziruddin of Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, is condemning the recent showing of pornography during a recent Niagara Region diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee meeting.
A meeting of Niagara Region’s diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee was recently interrupted after hardcore porn was shared on its members computer screens.
It wasn’t on the agenda of Niagara Region’s diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee — that’s for certain.
Instead of seeing a motion shared by the clerk, the screen flashed graphic images and videos of pornography to stunned DEIAC committee members as region staff scrambled to remove the offensive content from the online meeting.
“Unfortunately, due to how our screen was viewed, staff and I missed a graphic image on the gallery view but removed it as soon as (Pelham) Coun. (Diana) Huson advised us she was seeing the image,” said St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip, the committee chair.
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“As it was part of the same disruption, I reminded everyone in attendance that we would end the meeting if it happened again.”
Ip reached out to committee members to apologize, offer support and assure them nothing like that would happen again immediately following the conclusion of the meeting earlier this week.
St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip addresses Niagara Region council.
Bob Tymczyszyn St. Catharines Standard file photo
Ip said the committee holds its meetings virtually so committee members can participate regardless of where they reside in Niagara or their family and work commitments.
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The Region doesn’t livestream or record the meetings, and the link isn’t widely available to the public. Residents view the proceedings by contacting the regional clerk for a link.
Ip said the attack looked co-ordinated because the images appeared simultaneously.
“A few hours ahead of the meeting, a member of the public who had requested the link to the meeting from the regional clerk took it upon themself to share the link to several social media accounts and encouraged people to join the call without requesting the link from the clerk’s office,” Ip said.
Saleh Waziruddin of Niagara Anti-Racism Association said he shared the committee meeting link and the password with his social media followers and asked people to “show them we are watching, cameras and keffiyehs on.”
Saleh Waziruddin of Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, is condemning the recent showing of pornography during a recent Niagara Region diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee meeting.
Julie Jocsak St. Catharines Standard file photo
Waziruddin called the disruption “deeply disgusting” before adding he believed he had shared the Zoom link with clerk’s permission.
“Just before the previous meeting of this committee, which had a presentation on anti-Palestinian racism, a resident asked me for the link as it wasn’t on the Region’s website,” Waziruddin said.
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“I could have given the link, but I sent this person to the clerk out of extra caution. To avoid a repeat of a last-minute scramble to get the Zoom link, I specifically asked the clerk this time if I needed to send people to her or if I could give the link out myself.”
Waziruddin said there is no way to know how the link and password were obtained and by whom.
Supporters and members of the local Palestinian community have been calling for Ip to resign as chair of the DEIAC since she seconded a motionto removea request light regional headquarters in the colours of the Palestinian flag from the agenda at a January council meeting because “the matter does not pertain to any area of Niagara Region’s business or mandate and, regardless of the outcome, the result would be division within our community.”
The motion for removal, authored by St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, passed 26-2.
Ip called the pornographic disruption an “an assault” on meeting participants, including two members who she said were extremely upset and staff members who didn’t consent to view the disturbing images and videos.
“You can’t put this back on staff,” Ip said. “Even when we were running meetings virtually during the pandemic, this was never an issue.
“I think it was reasonable for regional staff and council to assume that anyone viewing the meeting and participating in the call would do so in good faith, and that we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with being subjected to this kind of graphic imagery.”
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Ip and Huson have asked the Region to investigate the technology requirements to secure all meetings to avoid a repeat.
Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley.
Bob Tymczyszyn St. Catharines Standard file photo
An email to committee members signed by Region Chair Jim Bradley and corporate leadership team member Michelle Sergi, the planning and economic development commissioner, condemned the incident and offered support.
“We understand that incidents like this can be distressing, and we want to assure you that we are taking steps to address the situation and prevent similar occurrences.
“Moving forward, we remain dedicated to our ongoing efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within our organizations. We are committed to continually improving and learning from these experiences.”
Ken Kawall, the DEIAC’s vice-chair, said the same thing happened a couple of months ago when he participated in an environmental community group meeting.
“It was the same loud noise and a similar or the exact same pornographic video,” Kawall said. “One of the people in that environmental community group meeting commented that the same thing had happened to a Fort Erie community online meeting that she was in not that long before.”
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Kawall said it’s “disgusting” that individuals are trolling Niagara Facebook pages and looking for community meetings links to interrupt, and the situation is widespread beyond the Region.
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