Jim Butterworth

I grew up in Kitchener - Waterloo where our community was very multicultural, took a women's sociology course, worked at camps where people were safe to be themselves and traveled quite a lot. I don't think folks fully grasp how monstrous some individuals are to BIPOC or 2SLGBTQ+ physical and mental health. Typically you hear there is no problem in government with hate speech, racism etc. however, the person often presenting that idea are not part of the community. So, first  step is there is a problem.
 
Second, connecting with the communities to see what they need and how we can help as a municipality.
 
third and the most important part is council speaks with by-laws and policies. I have begun the search for what Ottawa and other areas do in terms of supporting these communities. Although many candidates will search themselves for the answers I prefer to look outside to see what other communities are doing to help support these incredible people.
 
quickly read over these documents:
https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regional-government/resources/Multi-year-Diversity-Accessibility-and-Inclusion-Plan_FINALaccess.pdf
https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/documents/files/lgbtq_ss_en.pdf
 
This document is for municipal leaders who want to create equity and inclusion
https://www.cawi-ivtf.org/sites/default/files/publications/advancing-equity-inclusion-web_0.pdf
 
fourth, be a leader in the community who not only promotes inclusion of all but calls people out for inappropriate behaviour.
 
I wish I had more time to talk about this and would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on how I could help as well.
 
Jim Butterworth