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- NWAC Launches Voting Guide
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September 27, 2019
(Ottawa, ON): A new voting guide launched today by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is designed to encourage Indigenous women and gender-diverse people to get out and vote – thereby ensuring their voices are heard and their perspectives are understood.
The 2019 Voting Guide for Indigenous Women, Two-Spirit and LGBTQQIA Voters, created with support from Elections Canada, is a first for NWAC, and underscores the Association’s continuing efforts to keep front and centre the 231 Calls for Justice issued by the National Inquiry for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“Just as it is crucial that all federal party leaders honour the Calls for Justice, which are legal imperatives, and pledge their commitment,” says NWAC CEO Lynne Groulx, “it is also crucial that Indigenous women, Two-Spirit and LGBTQQIA persons take an active hold on the levers of democracy to shape their future.”
Indigenous women are among the fastest-growing populations in Canada – but also greatly under-represented in terms of candidates and number of overall voters in Canadian elections.
The voting guide takes Indigenous women and gender-diverse people through a step-by-step process:
Along with a list of the political parties, the guide offers a number of tips on how to decide whom to vote for (for example, think about the issues you care about and look at how the different parties address those issues) and provides a section on how Canada’s political system works.
Beyond voting, NWAC is also encouraging Indigenous women and gender-diverse people to consider active participation within or outside the government system. “By running for office, helping with an election campaign, running in a community band election, organizing a community meeting or engaging in social media activism,” says Lorraine Whitman, NWAC President, “Indigenous women and gender-diverse peoples can gain confidence in their abilities, as well as enhance awareness around Indigenous issues and priorities.”
To ensure a healthy future for all Canadians, including Indigenous women and gender-diverse people, and “with the growing need for real reconciliation, NWAC encourages Indigenous communities to participate in elections at every level of government. The more Indigenous women speak with their voices, the more their voices will be heard,” says Ms. Whitman added.
For information, or to arrange an interview, contact:
Laurel Sallie
laurel@sparkadvocacy.ca
+1 (905) 751-6370
Pour obtenir plus d’information ou prendre des dispositions pour une interview, contacter:
Laurel Sallie
laurel@sparkadvocacy.ca
+1 (905) 751-6370
About The Native Women’s Association of Canada
The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is a National Indigenous Organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, transgender, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people in Canada, inclusive of First Nations on and off reserve, status and non-status, disenfranchised, Métis and Inuit. An aggregate of Indigenous women’s organizations from across the country, NWAC was founded on the collective goal to enhance, promote and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of Indigenous women within their respective communities and Canada societies.
À propos de l'Association des femmes autochtones du Canada
L'Association des femmes autochtones du Canada (AFAC) est une organisation autochtone nationale qui représente la voix politique des femmes, des filles, des transgenres, des bispirituels et des personnes de sexe différent au Canada, y compris les membres des Premières nations vivant dans les réserves et hors réserve, les Indiens inscrits et non inscrits, les personnes privées de leurs droits, les Métis et les Inuits. Regroupant des organisations de femmes autochtones de tout le pays, l'AFAC a été fondée dans le but collectif d'améliorer, de promouvoir et de favoriser le bien-être social, économique, culturel et politique des femmes autochtones au sein de leurs communautés respectives et des sociétés canadiennes.
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