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© MB OPINION ‘THE YEAR THAT WAS 7 3 3 It's about trust. Our rela- ) tionship with our readers is a & built on transparency, hon- 2 | initiative to tell you who we 2a) why we £ what we do. This column i is & part of that project 3 A lot can Peren ina goa ‘AS 2022 draws toa close, it offers us a time to reflect on the important work our news team: ve plished and a reminder of how far we've come. Metroland newsrooms have reported on hundreds of stories and issue: 2022, highlighting the good and bad as it's unfolded across our communities. Think about that for a mo- ment. Hundreds of stories, ROBYN WILKINSON Column where journalists have been there to report, ana- lyze and provide « context to a variety of st and is- sues. That ‘work b has ledtoa more informed community because our readers took time to open their r newispa: per, follow o1 on social media, atbeabea to our newsletters and clicked on a story on our websites. While journalists don't do this important work for the glory of an award, it is certainly an honour when their work is seen and val- ed. We bie Unrilled to see uurnalists an and through the Ontario Com- munity Newspapers Asso- ciation, including online editor Loraine Centeno, who earned second place in the columnist of the year category for her work in so- cial justice and diversity, Bill Doucet with the Cam- bridge Times, who earned wards in the health ana wellness, feature writin: and investigative news cat egories, and Jessica Lovell with the Guero | Mercury Tribune, who award for feature writing, Over the past year, Met- roland embarked on an ini- tiative to strengthen ties TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA with Metrol: ties and launched Metro- land Indigenous: Truth Through Storytelling, hearing from Indigenous members of our communi- ties, telling their stories and amplifying voices and conversations locally. We launched a Torstar and Metroland gives back program to help not-for- profits stretch their adver- tising dollars, and reach larger audiences across our network. We continued our sec- ond year working along- side community members with advisory councils by collaborating, listening and learning of important community i issues and how spec: edition delivered to three mon homes across On- "These are just a few of the things our teams have been up to in 2022 and will carry over into the new ar. As you flip the calendar to January 2023, please continue supporting your local community newspa- pers. We are forever grate- ful to our readers who sup- port local journalism. Robyn Wilkinson is the managing editor of Met- roland Community Brands in Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and New Ham- burg. Reach her at rwilkin- could raise awareness. Thought leaders from communities ‘ge small helped plant the as for Our Changed World, a com. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust committee at trust@met- roland.com. WHEN WILL WE TREAT GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE LIKE THE More than 30 years lat- ont the N Montreal Massacre of the largest en femicides i in Canadi- an history, and yet little has changed to prevent an- other one. Recently, details of a devastating quadruple femicide of Indigenous women emerged in Mani- toba; In Kitchener, a man charged in the stab- f two women and a seven-year-old girl, leaving one woman dead and the others with serious ine ries. Last June, many of witnessed the trial of the Renfrew County triple fem- icide. There was the Toron- to van attack in 2018, the 2020 mass murder in Porta- pique, N. All of these murders were committed by men, and all of them were pre- ventable. According to the Cana- dian Femicide Observato- 3 lence, increasing to 173 in . To date, we've lost 162 $ women and girls to femi- cide in Canada this year. g In 2021, all provinces, ter- JENNIFER GORDON Column ROSALIND GUNN Column ritories and their federal counterparts signed on to the Joint Declaration for a Canada free of ic Based 4 Violence, committing 10-year action plan to oe gender-based violence (GBV) in Canada. Through this commitment and com- leased last month its Na- m Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (NAP), which is meant to complement the Truth and out in their joint response, the NAP falls egregiously short of being an actual plan. Instead, it's more of a menu of options provinces Commi: sion's Calls to Action and the National Inquiry sito Missing and Murdered digenous Women and city Calls for Justice. Unfortunately, as the Canadian Network of Women's Shelters and Transition Houses pointed diverse and Two-Spirit in- dividuals will die. Ending GBV_ requires vast, systemic changes across all facets of society because GBV isn't an iso- jated i issue. Yes, at its core patriarchy and misogy- ny. But its prevalence is al- so just one symptom of compounding societal fail- ures, such as a lack of pub- licly funded mental health supports, evictions and lack of affordable housing options, rising costs of liv- CRISIS IT IS? ming, all on patchworks of peals for donatio and again, gender justice advocates shown that GBV and gen, der equity are not priori- ties. Again and ain, women, girls and gender- diverse individuals die pre- ventable deaths. When will everyone treat GBV like the crisis that it is? This newspaper, published every lay, is a division ofthe Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concems write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., IN M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca nn¢e Aocna Nesektaiacounet editorial@waterloochronicle.ca Pcie ican waterlonchronicte @wichrot WHO WE ARE Publisher and Chief Exccutive Officer Community and Operations Dana Robbins Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar Advertising Representatives Fran Hendry, Katrina Anderson, Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, Lisa Humphreys, Cassandra Dellow, Zaid Shahabuddn, Managing Editor Robyn Wilkinson ‘Online Editor Loraine Centeno Ned Bekavac Reporter Bill Jackson Director Creative Services Paul Gostlin CONTACT Is Phone: 519-886-2830. Web: i and territories can pick ingandstagnant wages, de- from to suit their own pri- _plorable social assistance Rosalind Gunn i: is the orities and will likely exac- ratesandacontinuinglack director of erbate gaps in the patch- of child care programs. and advocacy at YWCA work of services and pro- It also requires invest- Cambridge and an organiz- grams across the country ment. Women-serving orga- er with the Feminist Shift. and risk perpetuating ru- nizations like ours do so Find YWCA Cambridge on service deserts. much with so little. We're Twitter @ywcacambridge The NAPalsofallsshort operating shelters and sup- and online at ywcacam- of addressing systemic fac- portive housing projects, ‘idge.ca. tors in GBV, those in the _ sexual assault support and Jennifer Gordon is the child inp Po: counselling on shoestring director of advocacy with licing, cr budgets; wom- the YW Kitche W i police responses to GBV.al Al en and gender-diverse indi- a ¢ an organizer with the which disproportionately impact Black, Indigen: Ips. What this tells us is that our leaders are still n taking GBV seriously, a more women, girls, gender- about consent and bodily autonomy ugh vio- lence-prevention program- nist Shift, an Nola sive, se, intersectio nal ad- Shift on Twitter @Femi- nistShift or online at thefe- ministshift.ca. Letters to the editor Allletters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail sustomerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000. Acerédité Accredited.