Ottawa city councillor receives hateful email from constituent targeting sexuality

Life in the public eye is never easy, especially in the social media era, especially for minority groups.

Somerset Ward Councillor Catherine McKenney who identifies as queer, was targeted by a particularly hateful email sent to her city hall office.

“I am not sure what salutation to use as I am not sure what sex you are”, wrote a constituent.

“Every time I see a picture or video of you I am convinced that there are actually three sexes. I know of males and females. What, exactly, do they call your sex?”

McKenney knows the constituent, but is not releasing his name. McKenney embedded the email in a tweet, calling on the public to support members of the LGBTQ2S community.

“Just in case anyone thinks there isn’t more work to do, especially for queer youth & others struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity…an email I received to my City account. Hug a queer kid today”, McKenney wrote.

McKenney was about to participate in a roundtable on inclusion and diversity when the email came in.

"I've got nothing but privilege. I put out that tweet and am surrounded by support and love. What if you're a young trans kid, or a gay kid and you're forced to come to terms with that. It's always good to remind ourselves there is more work to be done" McKenney told CTV News.

"We know that LGBTQ kids have a much higher rate of suicide. Hug one of them today."