PRESS RELEASE

Date:          February 15, 2022

Issued by: District of Kitimat, Town of Smithers, and Haisla Nation Council

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elect Her! Northwest BC – “This is What Leadership Looks Like”

NORTHWEST, BC – The District of Kitimat and the Town of Smithers are proud to share that they have been awarded a grant that will be used in the creation of a program called Elect Her! Northwest BC.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Canadian Women in Local Leadership (CanWILL) grant has provided $10,000 each to the communities of Kitimat and Smithers for this program which will provide sessions and resources to support women who want to run for office and to help them thrive once elected.

This includes those who self-identify as underrepresented women, Indigenous, Black and other racialized women, as well as youth and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

The program will be overseen through a steering committee comprised of women currently in elected positions in local and indigenous government, including representatives from Kitimat, Smithers, and the Haisla Nation as founding members.

“The heart of this campaign is our mission to celebrate and normalize the role of diverse women in elected positions in local governments,” says District of Kitimat Councillor Lani Gibson. “We know that too often women simply don’t see themselves in this role. We want to spark conversations that shift what women, and our communities, think about what it means to be an effective leader.”

Through the Elect Her! program, the committee will work to normalize the role of women in local government, inspire women to run for office, and remove the barriers which can impede women’s meaningful participation.

“This campaign is about supporting women who may want to run for local government in our communities, and about addressing the barriers that could prevent them from doing so,” says Town of Smithers Mayor Gladys Atrill. “It is also about creating a support network that will ensure they thrive in their elected roles. It can be daunting to think about running an election campaign and to consider how serving your community for a four-year term will fit in with other facets of our lives. Through Elect Her! we can talk to each other, share our experiences and be a support network.  An effective local government reflects its community and achieving gender parity moves us one step closer toward that goal.”

Through the course of this program’s first year, the campaign will offer a support network and resources for women who are already in office, as well as public outreach and events aimed at encouraging diverse women to run for office, and for their community members to learn how to support them.

 “It is incredibly important to ensure that the women in our communities feel welcome and encouraged to take a place in their elected governments, and that they enter that space with a feeling of safety and support,” says Haisla Nation Council Chief Councillor Crystal Smith. “I’m proud to be involved in this cause to make a future that is more inclusive for women.”

This program will cover a vast geographic range, covering the territories of the Haida, Tsimshian, Haisla, Gitxsan, Wet'suwet'en, Nisga'a and Tahltan, and encompasses the Regional Districts of Kitimat-Stikine, Bulkley-Nechako and Northcoast.

 

Media Inquiries:


District of Kitimat:  Maggie Hall
Director of Economic Development and Communications, District of Kitimat
mhall@kitimat.ca


Town of Smithers:  Duncan Malkinson
Director of Corporate Services
250-917-9271
dmalkinson@smithers.ca

 

Haisla Nation Council:  Trish Grant
250-639-7353
TrGrant@haisla.ca

 

Contact Us