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Liberals/Greens Release Separate Northern Ontario Platforms

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Two more of the provincial party leaders have unveiled their campaign platforms specific to northern Ontario.

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca’s promises include the creation of a Ministry of Immigration to help bring newcomers to the north to work and live.

“We will work with the federal government, seeking a mandate from the people of this province to make sure that Ontario is in the driver’s seat when it comes to our own immigration system.,” says Del Duca.

Del Duca says he will also create an advisory plan to ensure the new Ministry is established in the best interest of the north.

Other promises for northern Ontario include;

  • Ensuring everyone can access a family doctor or nurse practitioner within 24 hours, regardless of their postal code;
  • Covering tuition costs for medical and nursing students who commit to working in a rural or remote community;
  • Getting affordable, high-speed internet to everyone in Northern Ontario by 2025;
  • Constructing new roads to open up access to the Ring of Fire;
  • Supporting and empowering Northern municipalities by rebating 5% of the provincial mining tax;
  • Making Community Transportation Grants permanent and slashing municipal and Ontario Northland fares to a “buck-a-ride;”
  • Promoting economic development and regional tourism by boosting funding for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to $150 million;
  • Building or repairing Northern community infrastructure, like libraries and arenas;
  • Advancing the proven “2+1” highway model to support safe passing on major Northern Ontario highways;
  • Ensuring the highest possible level of winter maintenance on Highways 11 and 17;
  • Promoting safer winter driving by introducing a refundable tax credit of $75 per winter tire and $100 per studded tire in Northern Ontario; and
  • Reversing Ford Conservative cuts and delays to critical Northern services and projects, and ensuring the following projects move ahead:
    • The four-laning of Highway 69 and Highway 11/7 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon by 2025;
    • The widening of Highway 17 from Kenora to the Manitoba border;
    • The reconstruction of Highway 101 in Timmins;
    • The Cochrane bypass from Highway 11 to Highway 652.

Green Party leader Mike Schreiner also unveiled his plans for northern Ontario on Tuesday.

Photo supplied by Green Party of Ontario

“Ontario’s Greens have your back. We have a vision for the north to be prosperous, to be a leader in the new climate economy, to create the new career and job opportunities people in the north need to succeed,” says Schreiner.

The Green’s plan focus on seven key areas

1) Create good green jobs in the North

  • Increase sustainable, circular and Indigenous-led access to critical minerals and metals while fully adhering to principles of UNDRIP
  • Maximize job and economic benefits for Northern communities by removing barriers to mass timber building

2) Expand access to quality healthcare in Northern communities

  • Make dedicated investments in Nurse Practitioner-led clinics in the North where improved access to primary care is critical

3) Invest in a mental health and addictions strategy

  • Build at least 4,000 supportive homes and 6,000 affordable community rental homes for Northern communities
  • Implement the Ontario Greens’ Addiction Strategy to address the drug poisoning crisis that has disproportionately affected Northern communities

4) Improve funding for education and French language access

  • Support the University of Sudbury in transforming into a university by and for Francophones

5) Protect Ontario’s natural heritage

  • Provide $1B in funding to First Nations communities to support Indigenous-protected and conserved areas and Indigenous-led climate solutions

6) Partner with Indigenous communities

  • Invest in the creation of 14,000 Indigenous-led affordable homes in Northern Ontario communities

7) Improve connections to the North

  • Immediately restore and improve the Northlander passenger rail service between Toronto and Cochrane with funding for upfront capital costs of $220 million as well as annual operating subsidies of $12 million
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NDP Rolls Out Northern Ontario Platform

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NDP leader Andrea Horwath has released her party’s platform for northern Ontario.

Health care plays a prominent role.

It includes hiring 300 more doctors, including one hundred specialists and 40 mental health practitioners.

“You have not gotten your fair share on so many fronts, and we’re here to say you can get your fair share with the government that pays attention to your needs,” says Horwath.

Horwath is also promising to deal with the opioid crisis with investments in treatment programs and revamping the Northern Ontario Travel Grant program.

Other components include creating more training and job opportunities in the trades, mining and film and television sector.

An NDP government would also make high-speed Internet available across the north by 2025.

Ontario Liberal leader Stephen Del Duca has released his full campaign platform.

It’s labelled A Place to Grow.

He says it tackles the province’s affordability crisis and will help families get ahead.

“Our message to the people of Ontario is that this plan will give them the relief that they deserve. And the choice on June 2 will be theirs,” says Del Duca.

The Liberal plan is fully costed.

Del Duca says it also paves a way for Ontario’s budget to be balanced by the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Green Party leader Mike Schreiner wants to give first-time homebuyers a level playing field.

Schreiner says if elected premier, he will put the brakes on wealthy speculators and corporations, which he says are driving up the costs of homes across the province.

“We will bring in a multiple homes speculation tax and a vacant home speculation tax. The clampdown on the rampant speculation happening in the housing market,” says Schreiner.

Schreiner will also make home inspections mandatory at the seller’s expense.

Ontario PC leader Doug Ford is promising to increase the Ontario Disability Support Program by five per cent,

It will then be followed by annual increases tied to inflation.

Ford is also pledging an enhancement to a credit program geared toward low-income individuals and families.

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Infrastructure, Housing And Platforms On Day 18

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Housing, infrastructure and platforms on Day 18 of the federal election campaign.

Speaking in Montreal on Wednesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party is dedicated to fighting the housing crisis which forces young people to leave home.

“Leaving the place where they have family, friends and connections to go somewhere else because they can’t afford to stay. That has to stop,” Singh said.

The leader of Conservative party, Erin O’Tooole, said his party will scrap the Canada Infrastructure Bank and unlock money to get infrastructure projects built.

“We’ll review the ‘Investing in Canada’ plan and other infrastructure programs to make sure they work for local priorities, for our municipalities and First Nations communities,” O’Toole said.

Justin Trudeau laid out the 82-page Liberal party platform in Toronto.

“We’ll make sure you can find a family doctor or a family health team and while we’re at it we’ll make a historic dedicated investment in mental health care because mental health is health and
it’s time it was treated that way,” Trudeau said.

The platform also focuses on helping businesses getting back on their feet after lockdowns.