Housing
Safer City for Trans Folks
Mental Health Response
WGES Advisory Body
Take Action
For Candidates

Will YOU help keep gender equity front and center in the upcoming municipal election?

Ottawa 2022

We’ve lived through an occupation and an ongoing pandemic. Gender-based violence and violence against women, racism and other forms of oppression have increased.

It's 2022, and we're asking #NowWhat?!

Now What?! Ottawa! is a grassroots movement that works to uplift and uphold intersectional feminist, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, 2SLGBTQIA+ positive voices in the municipal election and on City Council.

Now What?!Ottawa! Is committed to Indigenous rights, disability rights, as well queer, non-binary and trans justice. We are devoted to social justice and amplifying the voices of individuals and communities who are underserved by and systemically excluded from municipal policies. Our organizing takes place on the traditional, unceded, unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabe nation.

We cannot let another year go by where we allow these communities to be ignored.

There is an ongoing housing crisis in Ottawa that needs to be addressed.

This crisis disproportionately impacts folks who are disabled, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, low income, or experience other layers of discrimination. 

Gender-based violence and violence against women (GBV/VAW) can lead to homelessness. Just like, homelessness can lead to GBV and VAW.  Women and gender diverse people are at significant risk of being houseless or living in precarious housing. 

We Need:

  • Swift and bold municipal government action to ensure that deeply affordable housing is available to all.
  • Shelter and social housing solutions to be tailored to the needs of people who face added barriers to access.

Safe and affordable housing

A safer city for trans folks

Trans, gender diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are subjected to significant violence in Ottawa.

It is time to prioritize justice, health and safety for trans, gender diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ people in our city.

Municipalities have an immediate and direct impact on our everyday lives. Despite progress on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, too many in our communities live precariously, barely able to make ends meet.

We Need:

  • Ottawa City Council to publicly and unequivocally denounce anti-trans hate, rhetoric and violence in the city.
  • A municipal 2SLGBTQIA+ Secretariat and a community-based 2SLGBTQIA+ Advisory Council to ensure community members are at the centre of change.

Now What?! Is calling for re-investments in non-police responses to mental health crises.

The City of Ottawa is developing an alternative mental health crisis response. It is essential that it is led by communities most impacted, and does not include police.

 

We Need:

  • To detask and defund police services.
  • To redirect resources to community groups to help prevent violence and support mental health crises.
  • A survivor-centred non-police response to prevent gender-based violence, violence against women, and femicide.

Non-police response to mental health crises

Women & gender equity advisory body

Social change relies on a vibrant and diverse civil society.

The City of Ottawa has made strides in advancing its approach to respond to the needs of women and gender diverse people with the Women and Gender Equity Strategy. 

We Need:

  • The City of Ottawa to embrace the community’s expertise and leadership to promote women’s and gender equity.
  • A Women and Gender Equity Advisory body in order to provide expertise and engage in collaborative decision-making with the City and ensure these efforts are meaningful to residents.

We are calling on all municipal candidates to commit to the following demands:

  • Addressing the housing crisis in Ottawa from an intersectional feminist perspective, to ensure that safe and deeply affordable housing is available to all.
  • Ensuring that our city is safer for trans, gender diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
  • Developing a non-police mental health response and reinvesting in community-based resources that meet the needs of survivors of gender-based violence.
  • Creating a Women and Gender Equity Advisory Body to provide expertise and engage in collaborative decision-making with the City.

Can we count on you to prioritize women, trans & gender diverse folks in Ottawa during this election & beyond?

Our communities deserve a better future. We must act now.

Take Action

  • Send a letter to Mayoral Candidates using this form
  • Share #NowWhat messaging on social media
  • Vote for candidates who uphold NowWhat?! values

19 people have sent a letter to mayoral candidates asking them to  act on Now What?! demands.

Send each mayoral candidate an email demanding action on gender equity.

Dear mayoral candidates,

As a resident of Ottawa, I will be voting for a mayor that prioritizes the rights and needs of women, trans, and gender diverse folks during their term.

Women and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities continue to face pervasive inequities, systemic discrimination, and poor health outcomes. Indigenous, Black and racialized women and 2SLGBTQIA+ residents of Ottawa are subjected to systemic racism and racial discrimination, leading to increased violence. We need municipal leadership to act now to ensure that all of our residents are at the centre of vibrant, inclusive communities.

Do you commit to these four key priorities during your term?:

  • Tackling the gendered homelessness and housing affordability crises, because everyone deserves a safe home.

  • Working with 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations to create a safer city for trans and gender diverse people amidst rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate.

  • Developing a non-police mental health response in recognition of historical and ongoing harms from police responses and the need to invest in community based approaches.

  • Developing a Women and Gender Equity Advisory Council for the City of Ottawa, to enable a stronger voice for our communities at City Hall.

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19 signatures

Share this with voters:

     

About NowWhat?! Ottawa

Now What?! Ottawa! is a grassroots movement that works to uplift and uphold intersectional feminist, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, 2SLGBTQIA+ positive voices in the upcoming municipal election. Our organizing takes place on the traditional, unceded, unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabe nation.

Now What?!Ottawa! Is committed to Indigenous rights, disability rights, as well queer, non-binary and trans justice. We are devoted to social justice and amplifying the voices of those who are most underserved by existing municipal policies and services.

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Find your local Candidates:

You can find out who your current city councillor is here, as well as how many campaign contributions they received from developers in 2018, and which ward they represent (your ward) under the existing ward boundaries. There will be some new ward boundaries and new ward names in 2022, and they can be explored here.

 

You can find out who is running for city council in your area here:

https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/mayor-and-city-councillors

New ward boundaries and names are being developed for 2022. These can be viewed here

Further voter information is available here: