Awareness, Events

Results of 2SLGBTQIA+ Questionnaire for Waterloo Region Municipal Candidates

SPECTRUM worked with the OK2BME team at KW Counselling Services to create a questionnaire on 2SLGBTQIA+ issues for all of the candidates in the Waterloo Region municipal election. The questionnaire was sent on September 21, 2022 by email to all of the candidates for whom we could find email addresses. A post was made on social media the same day inviting any candidates who had not received the survey to reach out to us for the link. If you are a candidate and did not receive the link but would like to complete the questionnaire please email us at info@ourspectrum.com.

Thank you to the candidates who took the time to complete the questionnaire. Below are the responses we have received to the questionnaire. We will add responses here as we receive them. Before being published, we confirmed with the candidates that the answers accurately reflect what they want shared with the community.

 

City of Cambridge

City of Kitchener

City of Waterloo

Township of North Dumfries

Township of Wellesley

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Township of Wilmot

Township of Woolwich

Regional Council

WRDSB Trustees

WCDSB Trustees

CSDCCS (French Catholic)

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Awareness, SPECTRUM News

Queer Vote Ontario Candidate Questionnaires

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

David Weber, Green, Kitchener South-Hespeler

Joanne Weston, NDP, Kitchener South-Hespeler

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