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Ontario NDP Party

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PC’s Steal Thunder Bay-Atikokan

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The Ontario PC Party makes history in Thunder Bay-Atikokan.

Kevin Holland, the Mayor of the Township of Conmee, is now a Member of Provincial Parliament for Doug Ford’s majority government after knocking off NDP incumbent Judith Monteith-Farrell.

“I was able to connect with constituents, voters at the doors, at the community centres and at the open houses that we were doing,” said Holland when asked about the win. “It was the grassroots style of campaigning that I think really resonated. It gave me a good opportunity to introduce myself to people one on one so they could get to know who I am and what I am all about.”

Holland has been in municipal politics for three decades and also owns a business.

A shortage of jobs in the riding is something he wants to address once he is sworn in.

“We need to diversify our workforce,” he said. “We have to start building our economy. With a strong economy, we can then sustain our healthy communities. If we don’t have that, then we won’t be able to afford the programs that help our communities.”

Prior to Monteith-Farrell being elected in 2018, the riding was held by Liberal Bill Mauro for 15 years.

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NDP Take Thunder Bay-Superior North

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It’s a first for the Ontario NDP Party in 22 years.

Lise Vaugeois avenges her 2018 defeat to Liberal incumbent Michael Gravelle and picks up the victory four years later in the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North.

Vaugeois told Acadia News Thursday that the people behind the scenes helped make the victory possible.

“We had a phenomenal team and so many people who stepped up to help volunteer,” said Vaugeois. “Because of that we were able to reach many, many people, probably more than we were able to interact with four years ago, and I think that really made the difference.”

Vaugeois served as a professor with Lakehead University and also owns a small business.

Once sworn in at Queen’s Park, Vaugeois wants to tackle housing.

“There’s a housing crisis across the entire region,” Vaugeois stated. “That is all types and levels of housing that we need. (In Northwestern Ontario) there’s nowhere to put up extra health care staff when they come up here.”

She also says healthcare funding will be a priority.

“I will be fighting to get health care funded properly,” she said. “We need public health care. I think it is appalling that there are moves to privatize our health care and education, we need well funded and strong public health care.”

PC Party candidate Peng You finished second.

Fellow Thunder Bay councillor Shelby Ch’ng wound up in third, but learned a lot in the short campaign.

“I definitely would appreciate more time next time,” Ch’ng told Acadia News. “There are always things that you reflect on following a campaign that you would do differently. The big takeaway for me was seeing how unique and different each little town and municipality is, and hearing everyone’s voice and ideas of what makes their community great. They were so proud to show them off and it was a very nice Northern pride moment.”

Shelley Wark-Martin was the NDP Member of Provincial Parliament in the riding, last elected in 1990.

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Decision 2022: The Autism File

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What will the next government do to support families with Autistic children?

It’s one of many questions on the mind of voters with election day set for Thursday, June 2nd.

Alina Cameron is a mom to a seven year old daughter on the Autism spectrum and shared with Acadia News that there were a few interim funding programs available to families.

“If you had applied by a certain date and had registered for the Ontario Autism Program (OAP), there was a patchwork of little programs that were very targeted to help with certain age groups and certain behaviours,” explained Cameron. “There was also the one-time interim funding, and some families were able to access the funds and use it on therapies. Other families didn’t have access to and for many families, like mine, the funding only covered a small portion of the expenses. But now the program is finished and everyone is waiting.”

Cameron is also involved with the Ontario Autism Coalition as well as the Northern Autism Families group.

The provincial program pledged funds to families if they registered before April 2021 for eligible services and supports.

The amount that a family received was based on the age of the child as of April 1, 2022.

When looking at the platforms for the major parties, Cameron noted the PC Party wants the OAP to remain the same with no mention of it in their platform.

Cameron likes what she’s heard and seen from the other parties, adding “We like that they are willing to work with and build on what exists already. Scrapping the program and starting from scratch would waste more of our children’s time… we don’t have time for that.”

Both the Liberals and NDP have said they will get rid of the current age caps that exist for the OAP, and will make the program truly needs based.

The NDP platform calls for an increase to the budget by $125 million by 2024-2025 and the decision making for the treatment in the hands of clinicians and parents, not bureaucrats.

The Liberal platform doesn’t mention an increase to the budget but does indicate a plan to implement direct billing to families.

The Green Party wants to increase funding and implement the Ultimate Wait Time benchmark for diagnosis and access to services.

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Candidate Profile: Lise Vaugeois

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On June 2nd, Lise Vaugeois will make another attempt to become the Member of Provincial Parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North.

She is running for the NDP after losing in the 2018 election to Liberal incumbent Michael Gravelle by just 813 votes.

“I have more experience this time around and I am more confident,” Vaugeois reflected, when asked what’s different this time. “I was ready the last time around, and we came very close to defeating Michael. People like Michael and I like him too. I feel like the NDP is really well positioned this time around. We have had 40 members in opposition that were not able to do nearly as much as they would like to do if they were working with a cooperative government.”

Vaugeois, who is a professor with Lakehead University and also a small business owner, was chosen as the candidate in February.

She feels she would be perfect for the role based on her ability to think on her feet and pivot quickly, which are skills that teachers have.

For the NDP, it’s about putting money back into areas like health care and education.

“We have as many as 45 students in some classes. I think the (PC government) let go between three and four thousand teachers before the (COVID-19) pandemic, and then we get into the pandemic and it has been disastrous for teachers, students and it doesn’t need to be,” Vaugeois added.

Election Day is Thursday, June 2nd