No Fort Erie candidate has answered Niagara anti-racism survey
October 13, 2026 at 3:03 AM
None of Fort Erie’s 19 candidates for mayor, council or school board trustee have yet answered the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association’s (NRARA) election survey.
NRARA has so far received answers from 36 of the 324 municipal and school board candidates it surveyed across Niagara, asking where they stand on hate groups, the Bob Gale scandal and police use of force against Black and Indigenous people.
Candidates in every Niagara municipality except Fort Erie and Wainfleet sent NRARA at least one answer.
NRARA executive committee board member Saleh Waziruddin told the St. Catharines Standard that candidates who leave the questions unanswered show they “don’t think racism is an important issue or that the lives of racialized people matter.”
The survey asked candidates whether they condemn former Niagara Region chair Bob Gale for owning Nazi memorabilia. Gale resigned March 11, hours after NRARA and Justice 4 Black Lives Niagara released documents they said showed he bought a copy of Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ signed by Hitler for $6,345 in 2010.
Mayor Wayne Redekop led both the Town and the Region’s opposition to Gale’s plan to amalgamate Niagara’s municipalities in the weeks before the resignation. Redekop and St. Catharines Regional Councillor Laura Ip introduced a motion at a February 26 regional committee meeting directing Gale to stop his governance review, which passed 17-12.
Fort Erie council also voted in February to have Redekop file a code of conduct complaint against Gale for overstepping his authority as chair.
Waziruddin said NRARA launched the survey after the Gale scandal so voters would know where candidates stand before another scandal.
Another question asked candidates whether they would publicly condemn groups such as the Dominion Society, which NRARA calls white supremacist and has put up posters across Niagara promoting mass deportations.
NRARA asked school board trustee candidates whether they would advocate and vote to publish student suspension rates by race within a year of taking office.
Niagara’s school boards have not published suspension rates by race, while boards in Hamilton, Peel and Toronto have released figures showing Black students are suspended at higher rates than their classmates.
Municipal candidates were also asked whether governments should express support for Palestinians as they have for Ukrainians and Israelis.
NRARA said it will publish answers on a rolling basis as they arrive ahead of the municipal election on October 26.
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About The Author
Andrew Hawlitzky
Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"
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