FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO- On August 25, Evan Dean stepped down as a candidate for city councillor in Ward 27, and announced his support for Chris Tindal.  Evan has been a great contributor to the community, both as a candidate, and through his work with Trinity Square Café, Our Place Community of Hope, and as volunteer coordinator for Pride Toronto. Chris is honored to have his support.

“I believe that Chris is the best suited for the role and that he has both the political and policy background necessary to serve the residents of this Ward” says Evan on his website. “I believe that Chris understands the role that communities play in creating a great and diverse city.  Chris also understands that improving public transit, and creating more infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists will keep this city green and sustainable in the future.  This is why I will support him for councillor for Ward 27.”

Chris Tindal is endorsed by people throughout Ward 27 and across the political spectrum, including former Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament David MacDonald, retired Senator Lois Wilson and former Ontario NDP Youth Chair Liam McHugh-Russell.

These members of our community are supporting Chris because they know he has the right priorities for our ward. Chris is committed to representing all of Ward 27’s unique communities, and will champion

• more responsible fiscal management at City Hall;
• improved transit, so that ‘the better way’ really is better; and
• smart, sustainable development that plans for our future but also preserves our past: our heritage buildings and the feel of our communities.

Chris’s platform was officially announced today on his website, christindal.ca.

For More information contact:
Matthew Ross
Media Relations
416.627.8928
matthew@christindal.ca

Release also available as a PDF

Back before Pride Toronto made its controversial decision to ban two words from this year’s parade, I made clear the reasons why I opposed such a move. Since then I have done a lot of listening and a lot of thinking, and, apparently, so has Pride. Yesterday they announced that they are reversing their decision to be the judges of what language can or can’t be used in the parade, requiring only that participants agree to abide by the city’s non-discrimination policy.

The board members of Pride Toronto are to be congratulated for having the courage to change their minds, and a special thanks goes to the community members including Brent Hawkes, Doug Elliott, Doug Kerr, Michael Went, Maura Lawless and others who worked to build bridges and come to this agreement.

As Glen Murray points out this morning on Facebook, the most important thing now is the second part of Pride Toronto’s decision, to “appoint a panel of LGBTTIQQ2SA leaders and friends to recommend a policy to protect and advance the qualities of Pride and ensure it is true to its core values and principles” with a mandate to “consult with the community to develop recommendations to ensure a Pride that values and promotes freedom of speech and individual expression, inclusiveness and respect, pluralism and diversity, equity and fairness, celebration, humour and fun.”

This addresses the two main concerns I expressed to Torontoist earlier this month, saying “The [Pride] Board did not pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy… the decision was ad hoc. Had they gone through an open process, there would not be such anger.” Now we will hopefully have both a comprehensive policy and an open process to create it.

Now it’s time to move forward together, recognizing that while the decision that Pride Toronto originally came to was wrong, there are also some members of the LGBT community who have not felt, as Pride’s slogan puts it, like they “belong” due to language they perceive to be hurtful and even threatening. Let’s be clear, I’m not just talking about lobbyists and activists with a public profile. There are many people I’ve spoken with while knocking on doors who have told me they no longer feel welcome at Pride, and that’s a real concern. Creating an environment where everyone feels a sense of safety and belonging while also allowing a diversity of voices is the challenge, and I’m optimistic that Pride has created the right process to meet it.

I’m pleased to let you know that this Thursday is the first all-candidates event of the campaign. I say “event,” because this is decidedly not a straight-forward debate. Instead, my opponents and I are told we will “have to work with and against each other in a series of game show–inspired challenges that test civic knowledge and comprehension.” In other words, it should be a fun night, in addition to being informative.

Hosted by Maggie Cassella, “#VoteTOin27: So You Think You Can Council?” takes place this Thursday June 10th at Fly Nightclub (8 Gloucester St). Doors are at 6 p.m., with the program starting at 6:30 p.m. The event is free, but in order to ensure admission it’s recommended that you RSVP for free tickets by clicking here.

Hope to see you there!

When we launched our campaign last month at The Pilot Tavern, in the centre of the ward that’s at the centre of the city, I was overwhelmed by the support I received from those of you who were there or sent messages. It was a very special and exciting night. If you couldn’t be there (or you were there and want to re-live it), here are some video highlights of the evening:

In the coming days we’ll also post some longer-form video from the launch. (This highlights video is also available on Facebook.) And as always, if you’d like to get involved with this campaign, we’d love to hear from you.