A pair of Northwest Ontario Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP) now have additional roles with the Official Opposition.
NDP Interim leader Peter Tabuns has chosen Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong) to be a deputy leader as well as a critic for Indigenous and Treaty Relations and Northern Development.
Mamakwa is the first ever First Nations deputy leader in Ontario.
Newly elected member Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay-Superior North) will keep a close eye on the portfolio of Seniors, Persons Living with Disabilities and Accessibility.
In a news release on Wednesday, the party stated the goal was to assign members portfolios to respond to the needs and concerns of families across Ontario, including affordability, housing, anti-racism, mental health and addictions, the climate crisis, long-term care and more.
Thursday’s election saw the lowest voter turnout for a provincial vote in eleven years.
Photo of Political Science professor Don Desserud (UPEI)
Only 43 per cent of eligible voters came out to the polls in 2022, despite advance polling numbers being higher than in the 2018 election.
When discussing the numbers, Don Desserud, a Political Science Professor with the University of Prince Edward Island, says the public is losing confidence in the government’s ability to actually solve problems.
“People will say things like, ‘what exactly are you there for?’ and that means that your enthusiasm for voting is diminished a lot as well. Some common thoughts among the public include, are we going to get a better government? Oh well we may not, they are all the same,” added Desserud.
Just 28.66 per cent of those in the Kiiwetinoong riding cast a ballot while the number was 38 per cent in Kenora-Rainy River and almost 43 per cent in both Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Thunder Bay-Superior North.
With files from Katie Nicholls, Mike Ebbeling & Randy Thoms
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.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Kiiwetinoong will have delayed election results.
Several reports indicate that Elections Ontario is extending voting at 27 locations past 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.
In a statement Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa said due to a lack of staff in Kiiwetinoong, there is a special directive to allow people to vote even if they are away from their communities.
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.
Making Highways 11 and 17 a Class 1 highway in Ontario.
That promise coming from Ontario Liberal party leader Steven Del Duca, who made a few stops in Thunder Bay on Sunday to support Thunder Bay-Superior North candidate Shelby Ch’ng and Thunder Bay-Atikokan candidate Robert Barrett.
“What I learned in my time at the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is that we need to do more to support highway and road safety and maintenance throughout the province, including here in and around Thunder Bay, across the North, across the Northwest,” said Del Duca.
“That’s why we’ve made this decision as part of our platform.”
When asked why he didn’t make the move while he was the Minister of Transportation (2004-2018), Del Duca only said he’s running for Premier and not a senior cabinet member.
A Class 1 designation allows snow removal equipment to be deployed as soon as 2.5 centimetres of snow has fallen and also calls for inspections three times every seven days.
Del Duca began the day at Goods & Co on Red River Road, and then had a private meeting with Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins.
Liberal leader Steven Del Duca arriving at Goods & Co on Sunday, May 22, 2022
Del Duca, when discussing the Indigenous portfolio, said under an Ontario government, there would be a minister dedicated to Indigenous reconciliation.
“I think it was a horrible mistake on the part of Ford Progressive Conservatives to get rid of that exclusive and stand alone responsibility given how serious the challenges are,” he said.
Del Duca added that the Liberal plan also promises to build new units of off-reserve Indigenous housing and to include more teachings in history classes on topics like the residential school system.
Before heading to Sudbury, the leader also pledged that residents would pay less at the pumps.
“Ontario Liberals, come July 1, will take 5.7 cents a litre off of the gas tax and 5.3 cents a litre off of the fuel tax to give people immediate relief at the pumps,” said Del Duca.
The Ontario PC Party also vowed a 5.7 cents a litre drop in the gas tax on July 1, while the NDP wants to see the price of fuel regulated through the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) on a weekly basis, instead of gas companies.
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.
Three of the six declared candidates in the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North met at Moose Hall.
This debate and the one on Thursday, May 12th at the DaVinci Centre (Thunder Bay-Atikokan) are being put on the Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group.
Treasurer Steve Mantis moderated the event Tuesday with Shelby Ch’ng of the Liberals, Lise Vaugeois of the NDP and Tracey MacKinnon of the Green Party taking questions from the podium and from those in attendance.
All three candidates said if given the opportunity, they would do away with Bill 124, which was introduced at Queen’s Park in June 2019 and received royal assent in November of that year.
When it comes to the topic of Long-Term Care, Ch’ng said for-profit care is the biggest mistake of the 20th century.
“We knew that for-profit care was terrible for seniors, but it took the (COVID-19) pandemic and (Premier) Doug Ford really messing it up,” Ch’ng added. “The military had to be sent in to change bandages that haven’t been changed for three days. Some patients were being overmedicated or undermedicated, while others were dying from dehydration because they can’t even get a sip of water. It’s absolutely crazy.”
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was called by the provincial government in April of 2020 to help seven long-term care homes dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.
Vaugeois pointed to the powers and jurisdiction of the Conservation Authority being changed through a Ministry Zoning Order.
“What it means is that a friend of (Premier) Doug Ford can come in and say ‘I want to build here’ while the Conservation Authority says ‘that’s a really bad idea because you are in a flood zone, and it’s going to create more problems for us’. They no longer have the ability to fulfill their mandate under the new rule that the Ford government brought it,” added Vaugeois.
In the 2021 report released by Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, between March 2019 and March 2021 the government issued 44 Minister’s Zoning Orders.
Kathy Suutari of the New Blue Party and Peng You of the Ontario PC Party both had empty seats for Tuesday’s debate.
Mantis told Acadia News that Ontario PC candidate Kevin Holland will not take part in Thursday’s debate at 7:00 p.m.
You are encouraged to wear masks at the DaVinci Centre but it is not mandatory and there will be spacing to ensure social distancing.
Peng You is looking to do something no member of the Ontario PC Party has done in Thunder Bay-Superior North.
Since the riding was created in 1999 from Port Arthur and Lake Nipigon, Liberal Michael Gravelle has won every election with the Progressive Conservative candidate finishing no higher than third place.
The one-term councillor, who immigrated to Thunder Bay, wants to make history on June 2nd as an elected Member of Provincial Parliament.
While our interview request with You was declined, Alexandra Hilkene did provide some answers to an email sent by Acadia News late last week.
“By listening to constituents and being involved in the issues in our community, Peng understands the unique challenges that we face in the North and also understands what needs to get done to build Thunder Bay,” explained Hilkene, when asked about being an Art-Large councillor in Thunder Bay. “The people of Thunder Bay-Superior North need a plan to rebuild our economy, build infrastructure and keep costs down.”
You was first elected to Thunder Bay City Council in 2018.
Shelby Ch’ng will appear on the ballot for first time next month in the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North.
The Liberal candidate had originally planned to help incumbent Michael Gravelle with his final election run, but the return of cancer and subsequent treatment forced him to step aside.
The Northwood Councillor was first elected in 2014 and won re-election in 2018.
“Oh it is a huge advantage for me,” said Ch’ng, when asked how her municipal experience will help in the campaign. “I have one of the largest portfolios of committees and things that I am involved with on council, so I take all of that experience that I’ve had over the last eight years. Particularly my experience as the Vice-Chair for the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, which allowed me the opportunity to travel to Toronto a few weekends ago and advocate for mental health facilities and other resources that the city is in desperate need of. I know the files, I know what we need and I have a great pulse on the community.”
Ch’ng will run against fellow councillor Peng You (Ontario PC Party) as well as Lise Vaugeois (NDP) and Tracey MacKinnon (Green Party).
“I have worked nine years in the most socially economic disadvantaged area of the city, building my business and trying to keep dollars in this community,” Ch’ng answered, when asked why someone should vote for her. “I sit on so many committees with (Thunder Bay) city council. I have a lot of experience just dealing with the public and understanding what we need to vote on. I come with a great toolset to advocate for you at Queen’s Park.”
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All three candidates said if given the opportunity, they would do away with 
it’s going to create more problems for us’. They no longer have the ability to fulfill their mandate under the new rule that the Ford government brought it,” added Vaugeois.
