Over 60 people came together, on October 19th, to discuss equity in the then upcoming federal election. Many people from different equity-seeking groups came to ActionDignity to discuss the specific concerns and barriers that they were facing both within the electoral process and the election itself. Participants asked essential questions about the election: how do people vote? Why do we vote? And how do we get more people to vote?
The keynote speaker, Teresa Woo-Paw answered all these questions and engaged with participants to highlight and address some of the barriers that they were
personally experiencing. Some would-be voters highlighted that some of the ballots do not have braille, that there are no polling stations in the hospitals, and that often the voter registration database does not cite their gender and name correctly. For some, voting can lead to them experiencing microaggressions, multiple acts of oppression, dysphoria, and intense stress. One of the common themes amongst all event attendees was feelings of isolation – these feelings seemed to be amplified during the electoral process. Even though voting is a democratic right, some might not want to participate because voting itself is a microcosm of the oppression that they are experiencing daily.
Another collective feeling at the event was one of erasure. Several participants thought that their groups were not even being included in election coverage. The strength of having an event like this is the potential and opportunity for us to reach people that are missed by traditional campaigns.
Throughout this 5-hour event participants were invited to chat about the various equity concerns that groups were having in this election. These breakout sessions included representation from groups such as: Indigenous Peoples, ethnocultural people, people with disabilities, youth and seniors, 2 Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans people.
The event also included the opportunity for attendees to learn about the Coalition Creating Equity’s upcoming Response Model for Hate Incidents in Alberta, to participate in a mock voting station by Democratic Engagement Exchange, and to contribute to the centralization of a collective list of equity resources in Calgary.
The event was an opportunity for people across equity groups to come together and learn and connect with each other. Many participants that attended highlighted a sense of isolation that they feel in their daily lives.
The main intention of the event was to give people the platform and opportunity to be together in solidarity. We hope that people left feeling more connected and less isolated.
We would like to extend gratitude to our wonderful keynote speaker and our group facilitators: Teresa Woo-Paw, Brad Robertson, Kim Chambers, Brenda Royal, Michelle Robinson, and Eva Legare-Tremblay.
Written by Tyra Erskine.