Mayoralty candidate Fred Haynes engages residents on the priorities for Saanich

Saanich residents now have a new, open and non-partisan way to share their views on key issues in the lead-up to the 20th October election. Saanich Councillor and Mayoralty candidate Fred Haynes today launched a PlaceSpeak page where residents can engage in a transparent online dialogue in a safe, secure and privacy-respecting format.

“Several key issues such as tent city, lack of housing options, urban green space, traffic, transit, and others are top of mind for our residents,” announced Haynes. “I believe all of Council and Saanich will benefit from hearing more from our residents on these issues.”

Through PlaceSpeak, Haynes is inviting Saanich residents to participate in an initial poll to identify the issues that matter most to them. Based on the results, they can then join subsequent discussions that will explore the selected topics.

“It is important that Saanich residents join in and have a say in the lead-up to this election. Social media has a huge impact on how our citizens in Saanich communicate with their local government,” Haynes said. “We’ve got Facebook, Twitter, email and more out there but PlaceSpeak could revitalize public dialogue in our community. This open community-based engagement is intended to help our residents indicate their priorities for the future of Saanich.”

To ensure that the perspectives shared truly reflect those of Saanich, PlaceSpeak’s unique geo-verification technology ensures we hear exclusively from Saanich residents. The authentication process also deters negative behaviour such as trolling or spamming, enabling a respectful online dialogue on challenging issues.

PlaceSpeak ensures that users’ personal information is secure. PlaceSpeak offers Privacy by Design as protective measures are built into the platform’s architecture. The information used to authenticate participants is never shared, sold or otherwise distributed – not even with Haynes.

“PlaceSpeak has been designed to authenticate the online public participation process,” said founder and CEO, Colleen Hardwick. “Political discourse online can attract trolls, bots and other forms of manipulation. By using PlaceSpeak, Saanich residents can safely engage in meaningful dialogue without dysfunction during this election season.”

Residents within the District of Saanich can register and join the conversation from their computer or mobile device. Participate here: http://placespeak.com/saanichdialogue

-30-

Contact:

Fred Haynes
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 250-889-9352

Mary Leong
Communications Manager, PlaceSpeak Inc.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 604-336-6977