The Haliburton Highlands Healthy Democracy Project (HHHDP) is continuing with its work to strengthen local democracy and promote more civic engagement in the upcoming municipal election on Oct. 26.
Lauren Hunter, chair of the HHHDP steering committee, said this week, “we had a great response to our initial speaker series, with more than 300 people attending in person and another 200 watching our videos online afterwards.
“We heard from attendees that the sessions were very helpful in increasing their knowledge and understanding of our local government, which was one of our goals.”
Hunter said that, recognizing there is more work ahead to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in municipal government, local politics, and elections, the HHHDP is moving into a new phase of work.
It will include at least four in-person allcandidate sessions held in the fall, with one in each municipality, to allow for residents to hear from and interact with candidates. Sessions will be moderated, non-partisan, and free to attend.
They are scheduled for: Highlands East on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Cardiff Community Centre; Minden Hills on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Minden Community Centre; Dysart et al. on Saturday, Oct. 3 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Haliburton Legion and Algonquin Highlands on Saturday, Oct. 17 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Stanhope Firefighters Hall.
In addition, they are doing a series of digital and mailed postcards about running for local office, a ‘candidate menu’ with information on every candidate seeking office across the municipalities, and a final card with information about voting to encourage people to cast their ballots.
HHHDP committee member, Jessica Slade, said, “we know each of the municipalities is also working hard to share information about getting involved in the election. We want to help boost their efforts, try to do things in new and different ways, and work to make this election as accessible as possible to our whole community.”
The HHHDP also encourages every resident of Haliburton County – seasonal, permanent, and renters – to make sure their voter registration is up to date. If someone owns or rents property in a municipality, they can qualify to vote in that location – even if that means they vote twice (once in their ‘home’ municipality, and once in their seasonal or renting municipality). Visit registertovoteon.ca to confirm voter registration with Election Ontario before Aug. 12. After that date, registration can be confirmed with individual municipalities.
The HHHDP is a project of the Haliburton County Community Cooperative, financially supported by HCDC (Local Initiatives Program) and the Telling Our Stories Speaker Series. More information, videos from the initial speaker series, and other resources are available at www.hhhdp.ca.
