Welcome & Election updates from SPCW!
We wanted to take a quick minute to thank everyone who signed up for membership for the first time and, of course, all of you who have stuck with us through the years. As promised, we will not bombard you with notifications but just the occasional update when we think there is something you really need to know about in the world of social justice. We do share regularly on social media so please do like and follow us on our social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
With the two elections coming up, we will be working to encourage as many people as possible in the inner city to vote. We will release updated riding specific voting guides as soon as the candidacy dates have passed. These will be easy to follow to demystify voting as much as possible. We have also produced a series of one page issue information sheets. We have also updated our Poverty Profiles based on 2016 Census Data. These all indicate the level of inequity that is out there. The sheets are meant to give people some facts on social justice issues so they can understand which level of government is responsible for what and give them some info to quiz any and all candidates who come knocking! Please read through to the end of this message for information on election forums we are partnering on and some petitions you might be interested in signing on to!
There is a lot happening in the City. While Council did commit to developing a poverty reduction strategy, there have been other concerning actions taken: The rushed approval of the sale of Portage Place Mall from both the City and Province, new security measures at Millennium Library, on going discussions on how to help people experiencing homelessness on public land and a drug strategy that does not recommend a safe consumption site. All of these are related as they demonstrate why a poverty lens on actions taken, one that emphasizes harm reduction as best practice, is needed.
Finally, our 100th AGM is coming up – September 23rd, 2019 at the Met, 6pm. The financial news for 2018-2019 is good! There are some minor by-law changes to be discussed and a few key areas to report back on. We will be premiering our documentary from local award winning filmmaker Ervin Chartrand on just some of SPCW’s long history and more importantly where we see our work going in the future. To vote at the AGM, you have to have been a member by July 25th, 2019 but whether you were a member by then or not, we hope you will come celebrate with us!
Kate Kehler,
Executive Director
Social Planning Council of Winnipeg