'Sanctuary city' motion likely to be shelved in favor of 'made in Guelph' model

A motion intended to see Guelph explore the possibility of becoming an official "city of sanctuary" will likely be dropped at Monday's meeting of City Council.

Councillor James Gordon said his motion will likely evolve into something else during discussion and he is just fine with that.

"It may be the most efficient thing to do, in terms of process, to withdraw the motion and reintroduce one with different wording," Gordon said.

The Ward 2 councillor said there are several stakeholder groups within the city that are interested in coming up with a "made in Guelph" solution that would not include the official wording "sanctuary city."

The intent will be similar, Gordon said, in officially making Guelph as an open, safe and accommodating city for refugees, but without the negativity that many associate with the official "sanctuary city" designation.

"That wording seemed to be, whether real or not, a trigger for people," Gordon said of "sanctuary city."

"It compared it to an American model, which this wouldn't be, but for some people that raises an alarm about what the risks would be about it, having seen what's happening with the American model play out," he said.

Those community groups interested in working together on a unique "made in Guelph" solution include groups from the University of Guelph, refugee support organizations and faith groups, Gordon said.

They would work with city staff to come up with a proposal that would have concrete elements, not just symbolic ones.

Gordon said that would be a community-driven solution, not council-driven, and would have a different timeline for his motion that comes to council Monday. That motion asks staff to look into sanctuary city designation in the next six months.

"If it is a unique situation, and I think that Guelph is, then it would want it's own unique name," the councillor said.

Gordon added that after the initial negativity from the "trolls" erupted when he initially raised the sanctuary city idea, there has been an outpouring of support and engagement from the community for the intent of the motion.

"The support for it has been tremendous after that initial negativity," he said.

Although Gordon is currently working with the city clerk's office on how to best deal with the shift in direction, his motion heading to Monday's council meeting as it currently stands reads as follows:

"That Council consider declaring Guelph "A Sanctuary City" as a means of welcoming and assisting undocumented refugees in our community.

"That Intergovernmental Relations, Policy and Open Government staff, through consultation with community stakeholders and Guelph Police Services, and with templates from other Ontario cities who have adopted this designation, be directed to report back to council in Q3 of 2017 with recommendations for how, or if, to proceed in making Guelph a Sanctuary City."