This spring, SPECTRUM and the Rainbow Coalition of Waterloo Region joined a number of 2SLGBTQI+ and allied organizations to launch the non-partisan Queer Vote Ontario initiative to get 2SLGBTQI+ issues on the Ontario election agenda.
Featuring a call to action on three policy priorities, including the development of a provincial 2SLGBTQI+ action plan, funding for 2SLGBTQIA+ community and social services, and action on gender affirming healthcare coverage, Queer Vote Ontario is committed to putting 2SLGBTQI+ issues on the election agenda.
The Queer Vote Ontario initiative also includes a survey for local candidates, a questionnaire for all provincial parties, a pledge to vote for queer residents, and a letter-writing campaign. Visit queervote.ca for all the details.
We sent our questionnaires to all of the candidates in the five Waterloo Region ridings and asked them to complete them to help give 2SLGBTQ+ voters a sense of the candidates’ priorities. Below, are the responses from the candidates who completed the questionnaires and who, when we followed up to confirm their answers, granted permission for them to be shared:
Shefaza Esmail, Green, Waterloo
Carla Johnson, Green Cambridge
Karen Meissner, NDP, Kitchener-Conestoga
Surekha Shenoy, Liberal, Cambridge