Polling station in Chatham. June 12, 2014. Polling station in Chatham. June 12, 2014.
Chatham

Candidate Profiles: Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Riding

Candidates running in the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding for the 2018 Ontario election have been asked the same questions from Blackburn News. Below is a profile of all of the candidates. Some of the answers may have been shortened for brevity.

MPP Monte McNaughton, Ontario PC candidate for the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding. (Photo courtesy of Monte McNaughton).

Name of candidate: Monte McNaughton Party affiliation: Ontario Progressive Conservative party Profession: Current MPP, manager and co-owner of McNaughton family business Hometown: Newbury

What is the biggest issue in this election?

"Ontario has become unaffordable for families and small businesses. People are struggling just to cover essential needs. The Liberals and NDP have worked together to bring in policies -- particularly the carbon tax, the Green Energy Act, and extensive labour reforms, which have made everything from food to gasoline to child care more expensive. On top of that, $1-billion of taxpayers' money is being spent every month on interest payments because Ontario has become the most indebted province or state in the world. Only the PC party is promising to get spending under control so we can make life more affordable today."

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

"We need to get back to basics in education. Unfortunately, we currently have an education system that isn’t focused on the best interests and outcomes of students. Fundamentally, it is letting our students down and creating a skills gap in our province; students are graduating without the qualifications needed for the jobs that are available. Our education system is also failing to teach basic math skills and financial literacy. We need to focus on the best interests of students instead of on ideology. It’s time to end the disastrous discovery math experiment, place a moratorium on school closures, support our autistic students, close the skills gap, and start listening to parents."

How would your party address the challenges in our health care system, particularly long wait times and hospital overcrowding?

"The Ontario PC's know that it’s our frontline healthcare workers who understand the system and we look forward to working with them to make sure funding gets where it needs to go. To start with, we are going to deliver 15,000 additional long-term care beds in the next 5 years to ensure our seniors are well cared for. We will fund dental care for low-income seniors. We have also committed to invest $1.9-billion in mental health care to make sure those struggling with mental illness get the help they need. The Ontario PC's believe in public health care and these investments will help ensure that care is delivered effectively and efficiently for all."

How would your party address the need for job creation in southwestern Ontario?

"An Ontario PC government would make it clear that our province is ‘open for business’ and committed to affordability by scrapping the carbon tax, getting hydro rates down, supporting innovation by clearing out red tape, and ending the Liberal practice of favouring large multi-national corporations over Ontario’s small businesses. We need to support our manufacturers and allow our private sector to do what it does best: create jobs and bring prosperity back to our province."

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

"We need to stop building wind turbines, place an immediate moratorium on new energy contracts, tackle the out of control executive compensation at Hydro One, support nuclear power, and return all Hydro One dividends to hydro customers — saving the average family 4.7% on their hydro bills. It's time to scrap the Green Energy Act. The high cost of hydro has done terrible damage to our province and real action to deal with this catastrophe is long overdue. A PC government will be for the people, and focus on making energy affordable for Ontario's families and businesses."

 

Todd Case, NDP candidate for the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding. (Photo courtesy of Todd Case).

Name of candidate: Todd Case Party affiliation: Ontario NDP Profession: Mayor of Watford-Warwick, former warden of Lambton County, small business owner Hometown: Watford

What is the biggest issue in this election?

"After more than 20 years of Liberal and Conservative governments, life has only gotten harder and less affordable for families. People want change. We have a fully costed platform that includes commitments to introduce Canada’s first universal pharmacare program, dental care for everyone, bringing Hydro One back under public control, ending hallway medicine, fixing seniors care, and taking on student debt by converting loans to grants and creating thousands of student jobs. To do all this we will protect low and middle income Ontarians by asking the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations to pay a bit more."

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

"Schools are the heart of our rural communities, but decades of Liberal and Conservative governments have undermined the quality and viability of our schools. Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP are committed to fixing the funding formula and repairing crumbling schools to ensure that our rural schools can thrive. We are [also] the only party that will put a moratorium on school closures to keep our local schools open."

How would your party address the challenges in our health care system, particularly long wait times and hospital overcrowding?

"Andrea Horwath and the NDP believe that delivering quality public health care is one of the most important things our government does. We will put an end to overcrowding and hallway medicine by restoring hospital funding and ensuring it keeps pace every year with inflation. We will open 2,000 new hospital beds immediately and shorten wait times for surgery by allowing hospitals to remove arbitrary caps that force surgery cancellations and delays. We will [also] invest in expanding hospitals to meet growing capacity needs, including much needed investments to replace or repair aging rural hospitals."

How would your party address the need for job creation in southwestern Ontario?

"Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP understand that government must do more to create well-paying jobs in Southwestern Ontario. We will work together with industry, labour, and our college system to identify skill gaps and work to close them. We will create a stream within the Jobs and Prosperity Fund to promote manufacturing, research, and development. We will also change the government's procurement policies to require a portion of contracts be fulfilled through buy-local provisions -- meaning our money will stay at home, help businesses in Southwestern Ontario thrive, and create good local jobs."

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

"To reduce your hydro rates by about 30%, we will bring Hydro One back into public hands to ensure it will serve the public interest. We will eliminate the unfair rural delivery charges that mean we pay more for the same amount of energy usage as someone in the city. We will get rid of mandatory time-of-use charges that do nothing for conservation, because we know that farmers can’t choose when to operate. We will cap private profit margins and executive salaries, and fix the oversupply in our system so that we aren’t selling power across the border at a loss."

Anthony Li, Green Party candidate for the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Li).

Name of candidate: Anthony Li Party affiliation: Ontario Green party Profession: Undergraduate student studying Medical Sciences and Financial Economics Hometown: Ottawa

What is the biggest issue in this election?

"There are many big issues in this election. Healthcare, taxes, energy costs, and jobs are all important, however, the biggest issue in this election is that Ontario is getting increasingly difficult to live in. As a 19-year-old undergraduate student looking to the future, I am surrounded by bright-minded peers who are worried about a shrinking job market. We are worried about the increased costs of living, the skyrocketing prices of housing, the insane costs of energy, and student loans. We are worried about the future, for it is us who will be suffering the consequences."

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

"The biggest challenge is that the job market landscape is changing. Students today can expect to have four to six different careers and upwards of twenty different jobs. Working into our 70’s and beyond is becoming more and more common. Ensuring that individuals are properly prepared for the job market is crucial. However, beyond high school, current provincial funding policy rewards colleges and universities according to how many students they can attract -- not the quality of education they deliver. This has led to under-funding and oversubscribing, making for crowded lecture halls and overstretched faculty."

How would your party address the challenges in our health care system, particularly long wait times and hospital overcrowding?

"The Green Party of Ontario believes in a publicly funded health care system accountable to the public, focused on people’s needs. We will reduce overcrowding in hospitals by implementing a system-wide strategy to better use existing resources in home care, long-term care, nurse-led clinics, primary care, and community care. We will develop a health care capacity plan to reopen hospital beds, operating rooms, and services based on the population’s need for care. We will also expand the number of and access to nurse practitioner-led clinics in all parts of the province."

How would your party address the need for job creation in southwestern Ontario?

"The Green Party of Ontario will support rural job creation and incomes by investing in rural infrastructure, research and innovation, plant-based manufacturing products, distribution hubs, farmer co-ops, organic and specialty crops. We will also increase funding support for local food and beverage processors to create jobs and support Ontario farmers. We will lower payroll taxes on local businesses and nonprofits by increasing the exemption level for the Employer Health Tax from $450,000 to $1-million in payroll for businesses and organizations with payrolls under $5-million."

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

"Ontario is currently paying other countries to take our energy. That is unacceptable -- this energy should first be offered to local businesses at a subsidized rate, if not free. Apart from Ontario's current sky-high hydro prices, we will import green hydro power from neighbouring provinces. Hydro Quebec has offered to sell power to Ontario at 5 cents per kWh - a much better deal than the 16.5 cents per kWh that Ontario Power Generation wants for nuclear power. This would save Ontario more than $12-billion over the next 20 years. We can also start negotiations with Manitoba Hydro to build a new hydro storage and wind-powered grid."

Brad Greulich, Libertarian candidate for the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding. (Photo courtesy of Brad Greulich).

Name of candidate: Brad Greulich Party affiliation: Libertarian Party Profession: Machinist Hometown: Baden

What is the biggest issue in this election?

"I think the biggest issue in this election is the economy. Something has to change that doesn't involve wasting more taxpayer money or going further in debt. No matter what our current leaders say about Ontario's economy, more and more average families are having a harder time paying the bills each month. Reckless spending has to stop, governments have to be reigned in."

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

"Different people all have different ideas about how the school system should be run. The biggest issue is the 'one size fits all' approach. If parents aren't happy with the public school system, they have pretty much no choice, unless they can afford private school. The Libertarian platform would attach funding to the student instead of the school, allowing parents to send their children to a school they are happy with. [For example] if a parent wasn't happy with the math or sex-ed curriculum at their current school, the child could attend a different one with little to no out of pocket expense."

How would your party address the challenges in our health care system, particularly long wait times and hospital overcrowding?

"Like with education, I dislike the 'one size fits all' model. The Libertarians would not get rid of OHIP in any way, but we would allow non-government options to operate. This means you could -- if you wanted, purchase private insurance and visit a private clinic. More options means better service and shorter wait times. The burden on OHIP would be spread on more shoulders. Competition will mean better medical service for everyone."

How would your party address the need for job creation in southwestern Ontario?

"The Libertarian party would bring jobs back to Ontario by getting rid of job killing taxes and regulations that force business out of the province. We will put in place a sensible electricity policy and remove taxes such as cap and trade and the carbon tax. Hurdles placed in the way of people who want to work, like the Ontario college of trades would also be removed."

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

"To cut down everyone's hydro bill, the first thing to do is repeal the green energy act. It's not fair to make people pay to subsidize solar and wind power. People who feel better buying power from these sources will have the option, but it should not be forced. We would eliminate time of use billing and end unfair delivery charges to rural residents."

Brian Everaert, Trillum candidate for the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding. (Photo courtesy of Brian Everaert).

Name of candidate: Brian Everaert Party affiliation: Trillium Party Hometown: Wallaceburg

What is the biggest issue in this election?

"The biggest issue in this election is the fact that nothing will be any different under the big three because of whipped voting and bias media influence on our elections. The radio and newspapers pick and choose who gets the public ear, it's not democratic at all. MPP's are dictated to by party how they can vote. Trillium's listen to the people."

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

"We need to offer more grants for students going to college and university; [and] also revisit the sex-ed program and let parents have a say."

How would your party address the challenges in our health care system, particularly long wait times and hospital overcrowding?

"Health care needs to be streamlined and we need to cut the waste that is in our management system. The LHIN needs to be eliminated and we need to allow our hospitals more control over their funding, [for example the] Sydenham Campus in Wallaceburg."

How would your party address the need for job creation in southwestern Ontario?

"Job creation comes when you create an environment that is business friendly. We want to get rid of regulations that impede businesses. We will [also] keep the minimum wage at $14 but won't jump it to $15."

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

"Hydro prices are out of control. We will scrap the wind turbine deals and stop paying producers to sit idle. We will also visit by using actual water-powered turbines to produce energy at Niagara."

Blackburn News has reached out to Mike Radan of the Liberal party with the same questions but has not received answers. Should Radan send a reply after the publishing date, Blackburn News will provide updates.

Read More Local Stories