All-men 'buy local' video sparks controversy, apology
A promotional video produced by the City of Cornwall, Ont., that features only male businesses and male political leaders has been called a "glaring omission" by members of the community, who have called on the city to make a more diverse, representational video for the area.
Chantal Tranchemontagne, a Cornwall resident, entrepreneur, and owner of Perch, a local magazine, told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning she didn't think the people behind the video intended to omit women, "but it's important to represent this community for what it is."
"We're lucky to live in a place that is so diverse and collaborative, and by omitting a big part of who is part of that story, it makes a difference," she said.
The video featuring Cornwall, Akwesasne and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry was intended to drive home the impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on small local businesses, said Cornwall Mayor Justin Towndale on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.
The all-male cast was a mistake, he said, and he accepted responsibility for it.
"Sometimes you're focused on what the message is trying to be and maybe you're not paying attention to everything else that's happening around it," he explained.
Diversity and division
Tranchemontagne said the video quickly became a topic of local conversation.
"Representation matters. We live in such a diverse community … it's just a glaring omission," she said.
The discourse in the community about the video did get "heated," she said, but there "were also some really respectful conversations that happened."
Amanda Gaucher, owner of Floral Expressions in Cornwall, said she didn't have a problem with the video when she first saw it.
She just thought to herself: "Oh, yay, Cornwall's on the map!"
"And when the negative [comments] came out about it, I was like, 'Oh, why? It's still a good thing.'"
Gaucher agreed that more diversity would have been better.
"Maybe we can do an all-female cast and do our own thing, and the next time do it mixed. At the end of the day, as long as Cornwall is being portrayed as a good little town, which I think we are, it's all positive," she said.
What's next?
Towndale agreed that the video "did fall short of the true reflection of what our community is today."
In a statement on Facebook, Towndale also wrote that some female business owners asked not to be shown and that the producer of the video is a woman.
"She had the best of intentions and did not mean to exclude anyone."
The current version of the video will remain, according to Towndale.
"We can't rewrite history."
But he said the city has plans for more promotional videos like the first one and "whatever we do going forward is going to be more inclusive of our community."
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