Select your political party
Communist Party of BC
Select your electoral district
Victoria-Swan Lake
Will you advocate to strengthen anti-discrimination laws protecting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in British Columbia?
Strongly Agree
Please provide details on any specific policies or initiatives you would propose.
I am in favour of amending the BC Human Rights code to protect against hate speech online. I am for swift penalties against people carrying out discrimination against others, and for people perpetuating hate and willful ignorance. Ultimately, I’d like to see our society transition from relying on carceral and punitive responses to discrimination towards restorative justice models that strengthen community bonds and counter hate with education. But it will take time to fully change some people’s attitudes. In the meantime, there are laws and policies that the government can enact immediately to protect the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, regardless of the prejudices that may exist in the psychologies of individual people.
Do you plan to improve access to healthcare services specifically tailored for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, including mental health support and gender-affirming care?
Strongly Agree
Please describe any specific actions or reforms you would implement.
I am in favour of expanding healthcare to include optical, dental and pharmacare, and to include mental health and addictions rehabilitation. I am in favour of gender-affirming care and health services that are designed to meet the needs of people from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I would promote a plan to initiate special government programs to encourage and support members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community financially to become doctors, nurses and medical specialists.
Will you take steps to ensure that schools in British Columbia provide an inclusive and safe environment for 2SLGBTQIA+ students?
Strongly Agree
Detail any programs or policies you would support to promote inclusivity in education.
Students should be educated on the issues of gender identity and sexual orientation from as early an age as possible, and with materials appropriate to their age. All discriminatory actions by students should be approached seriously and swiftly, but in a way that prioritizes reconciliation over punishment. Teachers also need to be educated on these matters, and policies need to be implemented to ensure that students are protected from any prejudices that may be harboured by school staff. Bathrooms should be transformed into gender neutral single-user bathrooms. We should fight against attempts by governments to force school staff into informing parents regarding their child’s preferred use of pronouns, chosen names and gender expression without the students’ permission. While parents’ rights are to be respected, what is all-too often left out of the conversation are the rights of the child.
SOGI 123 is an essential element in creating safe and inclusive classrooms for all students regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
Strongly Agree
Explain your rating of the question on SOGI 123.
Educating students on the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity in a way that accords with the state of our current understanding of these topics should not be controversial.
Will you address the housing and homelessness issues disproportionately affecting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community?
Strongly Agree
Outline any specific strategies or housing programs you would endorse.
The housing crisis is a crisis of capitalism, where housing has become a commodity for personal and corporate enrichment rather than homes for people to live in. We need to end real estate speculation by building publicly-owned housing on publicly-owned land. No one should pay more than 20% of their income on rent.
In the immediate term, the government should establish vacancy controls which tie rents to the unit, ban “renovictions” and “demovictions” and abolish “sweeps” against unhoused people using tents.
Special programs should be implemented to prioritize peoples who are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis, including Indigenous peoples, racialized people, women and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Supports that address the specific needs of people with trauma, mental health issues, addictions, should be supported by the government as a part of universal healthcare.
Will you work to combat hate crimes and violence against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community?
Strongly Agree
Provide details on your approach to reducing hate crimes and ensuring justice for victims.
The first step in education. With SOGI 123 in schools (including public, private and religious schools), there is an opportunity to correct the ignorance and bigotry of prior generations. However, we also need immediate action, including widespread government-funded public education campaigns, coupled with a serious crack down on online hate speech.
Police should be trained to recognize hate crimes against 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and hate crimes should be documented so they can be used to study the problem more thoroughly, resulting in improving our responses over time. However, we have to understand that the carceral system can only do so much, and in many cases, may only make things worse. We should aspire to a system that focuses on restorative justice models that can reconcile perpetrators of hate and violence with their victims and with their community, to create a stronger and more inclusive society overall.
We also need to ensure that the victim of crimes leads the reconciliation process, and that they are given the support they need to recover from both the physical and psychological harm they may endure as a result, including government-funded therapy and income assistance to prevent any losses that may occur while they focus on their recovery.
Will you support increased funding for 2SLGBTQIA+ community organizations and services?
Strongly Agree
Please elaborate on your funding priorities for these organizations.
I am for funding 2SLGBTQIA+ services properly. These services are human rights, and should be fully funded by the government. Over time, and with heavy consultations with the relevant parties (members of the 2sLGBTQIA+ community, service providers, advocates etc), I’d like to see these services integrated into the public health system to ensure funding in perpetuity, to create unionized workplaces, and to open access to the resources needed to comprehensively provide the services required.
Will you promote public awareness and education to foster acceptance and understanding of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community?
Strongly Agree
Detail any campaigns or educational initiatives you would support or propose.
In addition to fully implementing SOGI 123 in all schools in BC, including private and religious schools, and education for police, I am also in favour of a mass public campaign. This should include education in work places, unions, and labour councils. This should be combined with public-facing campaigns, potentially including billboards, informational pamphlets and digital content. I also believe that more robust funding for 2SLGBTQIA+ artists and creators can support the dissemination of perspectives and lived experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. To ensure that these campaigns are as effective as possible, they should be preceded by consultations with experts and community members, and the hiring of a steering committee made of people from the community.
Will you ensure that your policies and initiatives address the diverse needs within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, including those intersecting with other marginalized identities (e.g., race, disability, socioeconomic status)?
Strongly Agree
Describe your approach to creating inclusive and intersectional policies.
I am in favour of programs that address the issues facing all marginalized peoples, including racialized peoples, Indigenous peoples, women, the disabled and the 2SLGBTQiA+ communities in the areas of education and job training, housing and healthcare. I also think it is important to create forums where people from different marginalized groups (and those with intersecting identities) can meet and open dialogue. The government, the right wing and the corporations have had too much success at keeping people divided by pitting one marginalized group against another. They blame one group for the problems faced by another group, to mask the fact that it is the capitalist system that is degrading our environment, creating the housing crisis, stripping away our healthcare, and fomenting hate. Individuals with intersecting identities are often caught in the middle of these disputes, but also have a valuable role to play in overcoming these divisions and leading us towards a greater unity.
The BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner’s report “From Hate to Hope” includes several recommendations to address hate and discrimination. Will you work to implement these recommendations, particularly those affecting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community?
Strongly Agree
Please specify which recommendations from the Commissioner’s report you will prioritize and how you plan to implement them.
I think that recommendation 1 (hire someone to lead the work) and recommendation 2 (create a plan…) are where we would need to start. The solutions implemented by government should be led by people in the community who are most knowledgeable and who are most affected by this issue. But I would also like to emphasize recommendation 4 (Do more teaching and learning in schools about hate and how to stop it) and recommendation 9 (Commit to changing how content is shared and how hate is addressed; share how effective these changes are.) Hate and discrimination feed off ignorance and fear, so these issues must be addressed immediately. However, while recommendation 9 says it is directed at social media companies, I believe that the government has to play a larger role by monitoring and regulating social media to eliminate hate content. We cannot assume that for-profit corporations will do what is best for society; the people, through the government, have to take the lead. Recommendation 12 is also incredibly important, and can serve as the legal backbone to take action against hate and discrimnation.
2SLGBTQIA+ seniors face unique needs as they age, particularly in the areas of specialized healthcare, assisted living where they are free to live authentically, and affordable housing. Will you work to implement specific policies and programs to address these unique needs?
Strongly Agree
Please specify how you will address the unique needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors.
Housing that is appropriate, and includes the services that 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors require should be paramount. This is a public health issue, and should be treated as such. Housing should only be 20% of people’s income, and seniors should all have access to substantial pensions or basic liveable income.
