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On Feb. 4, Pflag York Region requested a response from all major party leaders addressing LGBTQ2IA+ issues, including gender-affirming care, school safety, and greater community safety and inclusion. Twenty-three days later, we have only received one local response.
We received no correspondence from the Ontario Progressive Conservatives or the Green Party of Ontario.
The Ontario Liberal Party response is presented as a response from the team of a Liberal candidate Gillian Vivona in the riding King-Vaughan. Their team has been in touch with the larger campaign and assured us that a response would be forthcoming. However, this response has not yet been received, despite its original request being made 22 days ago. We appreciate their efforts and are disappointed that the larger campaign did not respond in a timely manner.
We received a response from the Ontario NDP, but they provided a response to our 2022 questions rather than the questions submitted just 22 days ago. We’ve asked for an explanation about how this happened and have not received a response. We will not be sharing a response nearly three years late.
We are deeply disappointed that every leadership campaign failed to engage directly with LGBTQ2IA+ individuals, parents, caregivers, and allies of community members. It is crucial to draw attention to the paradox within this letter, which urges our community to vote while their candidates and party leaders lacked the time and care to provide space for them.
Despite this, we encourage all eligible voters to make a plan and exercise their right to vote. Voting is a fundamental responsibility, but it is also a privilege that must be exercised. Across the world, the strength of democracy is being weakened by influential individuals who favour autocratic structures.
If you have grown weary and fearful of the future, of the safety of your loved ones and friends, then you owe it to them to go and vote with all of this in mind.
Tristan Coolman
President, Pflag York Region
