Looking for one last chance to decide who to vote for in Burnaby for mayor, council and school board?
Look no further.
The Burnaby Inter-Agency Council is putting on an all-candidates meet-and-greet tonight (Tuesday) at Maywood Community School (4567 Imperial Street) from 7 to 9 p.m.
The event will feature a mayoral candidate Q&A, and council and school board candidates will be set up at tables to pitch their platforms and answer questions.
The theme of the evening will be social inclusion, so mayoral candidates will be asked to explain how they intend to make Burnaby a community for all residents, especially the most vulnerable.
“I don’t think the theme is new, but I think it’s important for Burnaby in terms of making sure that there’s access to housing, that people can afford to live in Burnaby. Those are important issues, as are seniors and mobility,” said Antonia Beck, executive director of Burnaby Family Life and co-chair of the Inter-Agency Council.
Beck also highlighted sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) as an important issue for the school board.
“I think it’s really about educating and learning about people as people,” Beck said, “and, the more experiences we can provide, the more positive experiences of meeting people from diverse backgrounds, I think that’s what changes attitudes.”
Beck said she doesn’t expect the SOGI issue to boil over as it did at a meeting for school trustee candidates on Oct. 3 that ended with police being called after a noisy showdown between pro- and anti-SOGI candidates and audience members.
At the meeting tonight, voters will have to go to candidates’ tables directly to pose questions about SOGI, demovictions or anything else they want to know about before casting their ballots.
“I don’t think you can avoid it,” Beck said of the SOGI issue. “I think it will come up, but it will come up on an individual basis. … We’ll have a plan in place should things get out of control.”
The candidates have also been asked some questions ahead of time, and their answers will be put up on the walls.
The mayoral Q&A, meanwhile, will run from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
For more information, phone 604-431-0400.
