Cutting Through Elections Noise: A Forum for Building Community Power

Join Social Development Centre Waterloo Region on Feb 21 – to talk about social change that uses local tools.

Some of the engaging topics include:

Things are not okay, and we can all feel it.

Mass layoffs seem imminent in the face of a looming tariff war. Housing costs are eating up an ever-increasing share of our incomes. Our schools are under-funded. Our hospitals are inundated. And homeless encampments have become entrenched, as more people are pushed into poverty. All of this against a backdrop of dizzying political announcements – new legislation, new funding, new election timelines – and yet, no improvement in the realities we see around us.

But history has shown us that social change is possible.

The rejection of encampment evictions at 100 Victoria St. in Kitchener. The overturning of land swaps at the heart of Ontario’s Greenbelt scandal. The change in a 13-year stance when Canada condemned Israeli settlements in occupied-Palestine. Time and again, we’ve seen deep-seated political forces fall apart in the face of sustained community action.

Let’s turn our collective anxiety into something productive.

Join us on Feb. 21 and together, we can combat the feeling that we’re on our own. We can listen and care for one another, even as our systems fail us. And in the midst of so much noise, we can practise building local, collective power to create the future we want.

Some Resources Your May Find Helpful in The Lead Up to Election Day

With the provincial election announced a mere 28 days before Election Day, we understand many voters don’t feel like they have enough time to get to know their candidates or the platforms of their respective parties. Here are some of the resources we’ve come across that you might find helpful:

1. A primer of questions about decent work and cost of living (Justice for Workers)
2. Candidate responses to questions compiled locally by One Millions Neighbours Waterloo Region
3. Resources for voters who care about Good Food for All (Sustain Ontario)
4. Search for your candidate’s campaign page (Elections Ontario)
5. Promises made by each of the 4 parties (Global News)
6. How to cast your vote on or before Election Day (Elections Ontario)