(Blackburnmedia.ca file photo)(Blackburnmedia.ca file photo)
Windsor

Diverse Group Seeks Windsor-Tecumseh Nod

Voters in Windsor-Tecumseh will choose from five registered candidates to represent them at Queen’s Park on June 7.

Windsor-Tecumseh is one of four ridings that are, in whole or in part, Essex County. It is bounded by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair on the north, the Lakeshore town line on the east, on the south by the Essex town line, and on the west by a line tracing Langlois Ave., Tecumseh Rd. E. and Pillette Rd. The riding encompasses portions of east Windsor and the entire town of Tecumseh.

The most recent MPP for the riding is Percy Hatfield of the New Democratic Party. He was elected in a 2013 by-election brought on by the resignation of Liberal Dwight Duncan. He won in 2014 by over 62% of the vote.

The current name of the riding has been in place since 2007. Between 1999 and 2007, it was known as Windsor-St. Clair, which was created from the old ridings of Windsor-Riverside and Windsor-Walkerville.

The riding has never been represented by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

BlackburnNewsWindsor.com has asked the candidates from the top four provincial parties in Windsor-Tecumseh to answer five standard questions concerning their platforms and their views on issues important to Ontarians in this election. Their responses are being published verbatim, with slight editing for clarity when necessary.

The candidates in this profile are listed in the order received by the newsroom.

PERCY HATFIELD

Windsor-Tecumseh NDP MPP Percy Hatfield expresses concern over cuts to the CCAC. (Photo by Jason Viau) Windsor-Tecumseh NDP MPP Percy Hatfield expresses concern over cuts to the CCAC. (Photo by Jason Viau)

Party: Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) Occupation: Incumbent MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh, previously a Windsor City Councillor and journalist. Hometown: Windsor, originally from St. Martins, New Brunswick.

What is the biggest issue in this election?

Health care, trust and credibility.

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

Understaffing and underfunding.

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

A 5.3% increase in funding. Hiring more nurses and building more long-term care facilities.

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

Concentrate on the high-tech sector, with 27,000 new paid student work placements.

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

End time-of-day pricing, buy back private shares and phase out the ending of contracts with private suppliers that are not needed.

REMY BOULBOL

Remy Boulbol, Liberal MPP candidate for Windsor-Tecumseh. Photo courtesy Boulbol campaign.

Party: Ontario Liberal Party Occupation: Executive Director of Development, Detroit Public Schools Foundation Hometown: Windsor, originally from Detroit

What is the biggest issue in this election?

It’s difficult to land on the single biggest issue we are facing as a province today. In Windsor and beyond, affordability and quality of life are top of mind. That’s why we are addressing some of these issues by covering childcare for preschool children and growing the number of spaces to reduce wait lists.

An Ontario Liberal government is ushering in a $15/hr minimum wage - a living wage, so workers can better provide for themselves and their loved ones. In a significant expansion to pharmacare through our OHIP+ program, we’ve covered the cost of prescription medication for over a million children, and we’re bringing in the same coverage to those 65 and older in the coming years.

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

One of the greatest challenges for individuals and families surrounds affordability of post-secondary education. The debt that comes along with pursuing that education and the career paths available can be a real barrier to many. We’ve made tuition free for 235,000 students this year, including 7,000 at the University of Windsor and St. Clair College.

Our government has also raised the OSAP repayment threshold from $25,000 to $35,000 to help address the debt that can hold many families back after school.

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

We’ve made some significant advancements in healthcare. We’re increasing our healthcare spending by 5%, to reduce wait times and increase access across our healthcare system, including $822-million to support Ontario hospitals. That is an investment significant enough so every hospital in the province can see a real funding increase.

Because nursing care is so vital, earlier this month we announced a Liberal government would hire 3,500 more nurses. There is no real health care plan without carefully integrated mental health care focus. That is why our government is investing $2.1-billion over four years for mental health and addictions to deliver more accessible, integrated care.

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

Growth in the labour market is a sign of key economic growth. Ontario’s economic growth leads growth across the G-7 while Ontario is first in foreign direct investment in Canada.

We have made a lot of progress. The unemployment rate in Windsor is the lowest it has been in a generation and at its lowest level in Ontario in over 17 years. Ontario has created more than 800,000 jobs since the recession. We have made real progress but there is always more work to do. From covering childcare for preschoolers so parents can participate in the workforce, to covering tuition for thousands of people, we are creating more opportunity and equipping more people with the skills to succeed.

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

We acknowledge that the cost of hydro prices can pose real challenges for families and individuals. That’s why our government introduced the Fair Hydro Plan, which has reduced hydro bills 25% lower on average for families, small businesses and low-income families. As well, those in rural and remote areas are seeing decreases as high as 40% to 50%.

MOHAMMAD LATIF

Mohammad Latif, Ontario PC Party MPP candidate for Windsor-Tecumseh. Photo provided by the Latif campaign.

Party: Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Occupation: Small business owner Hometown: Windsor, originally from Pakistan

What is the biggest issue in this election?

The biggest issue in this election is getting rid of Kathleen Wynne. In every neighbourhood I go to, I hear how people are struggling under the disastrous policies of the Kathleen Wynne Liberals. Skyrocketing hydro rates, overcrowded hospitals, and billion-dollar scandal after billion-dollar scandal.

This election is about change, and while the NDP has supported Kathleen Wynne in the past, like with the Green Energy Act that caused your hydro rates to skyrocket, I believe the PCs are the only party that can make our province livable and affordable for all Ontarians.

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

The biggest challenge in Ontario facing education is our schools’ infrastructure. Under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals, our schools have literally started to crumble. Our first priority is to make sure our kids have a safe place to learn, and it starts with fixing our crumbling schools. I’m proud to have signed on to the Fix the Schools campaign, that pledges to have a state-of-good-repair standard for all publicly-funded schools. I want to make sure that these public assets are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working.

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

I know firsthand the challenges our healthcare system faces. My wife is a family doctor and some of my businesses include walk-in clinics and other healthcare facilities. A few years back, my mother had to be taken to hospital. The ambulance came and picked her up but she waited two hours at Hotel Dieu (Grace) Hospital. When she finally saw a doctor, he said there was nothing they could do for her and they had to send her to Henry Ford (Hospital) in the U.S. When they transported her over the border they couldn’t give her oxygen in the tunnel and her heart stopped beating. Fortunately, she survived and I visit her every day at her home, where she is bedridden.

Everyone I speak to has their own sad story. The doctors, nurses and frontline staff are critically underfunded. That’s why the PCs have committed to ending “hallway healthcare” by actually listening to the frontline healthcare professionals, and investing $1.9-billion in mental health, addictions and housing supports while also committing to opening up 15,000 long-term care beds in five years, and 30,000 new beds over ten years.

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

The past 15 years of Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals have seen a constant attack on businesses. Greenhouse growers in Essex County have expanded in places like Ohio, instead of in our backyard. Corporations like Heinz in Leamington, once the lifeblood of that town, have packed up and left. Enough is enough.

To make Ontario open for business again the PCs have committed to ending the carbon tax, cap-and-trade scheme which makes Ontario less competitive and everything more expensive. We’ve committed to lowering the small business tax rate by 8.7%, cut gas taxes by 10-cents a litre, and reduce hydro rates by 12% to make our businesses competitive and attract more jobs in southwestern Ontario.

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

When it comes to skyrocketing hydro rates, Kathleen Wynne and the NDP are the same. Both the Liberals and the NDP voted for the Green Energy Act, which created soaring energy prices for people in Ontario, while at the same time giving the electricity we didn’t need at a steep discount to places like New York and Ohio. While people and businesses struggled to pay their bills in Ontario, we subsidized competing business across the border. Kathleen Wynne and the NDPs are to blame, they voted for it.

The PCs have promised to cut hydro bills by an additional 12% and cancel the Green Energy Act and any contracts we can. We’ve also committed to getting rid of the CEO of HydroOne, who makes $6-million for a job that in other provinces pays ten times less. On June 7, the party with the taxpayers’ money is over.

HENRY OULEVEY

Henry Oulevey, Green Party MPP candidate for Windsor-Tecumseh. Photo courtesy of Green Party of Ontario.

Party: Green Party of Ontario Occupation: Electrical engineer Hometown: Windsor, originally from Hamilton

What is the biggest issue in this election?

The biggest issue in this election is getting the public to trust the government and maintain the services we have while bringing the province to a fiscal balance. We have some excellent social programs here in Ontario, and while they might not be perfect, we need to make sure they are properly funded. Unfortunately, the three main parties do not clearly state how they are going to fund them without permanently running a deficit each year. The Green Party is trying an honest approach as how to raise revenue and reduce some administration so we can focus the money we have to where it needs to go.

What is the biggest challenge in Ontario education?

The biggest challenge in education is getting more EA's (educational assistants) and specialists in classrooms where teachers and students need that extra support.

We ask too much of some of our teachers by giving them class sizes that are too large. Every child had a different learning profile.  By adding additional resources to the classroom, children who need that extra support have someone to help them, which takes some of the workload off the teacher. The Green Party wants to amalgamate the two public school boards to save administration and overhead costs so these additional EA's and specialists can be hired and class sizes go down.

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

To bring down wait times and overcrowding in hospitals, we propose to expand home care and long term care so that people are not being treated at our hospitals when they don't need to. We would also hire more nurse practitioners and expand nurse-led clinics so that there are more options for people to receive help and treatment without having to visit a hospital. But again, proper funding of our health system needs to be restored. We need to increase funding to the Local Health Integrated Networks to make sure they can provide the services expected of them from the Ministry of Health.

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

We believe that job creation is a long-term, steady investment and practice that does not produce results overnight. Incentives alone will not bring in new large employers that will immediately add thousands of jobs. Companies and businesses want stability and an economic environment where they can grow. Much of that small growth is from our small businesses, so the Green Party will raise that exemption off the Employer Health Tax so small business can not only pay a higher wage but can hire more staff when needed.

We also propose a Basic Income Guarantee for everyone so that entrepreneurs will have some income during the first few months of their business and not be afraid to take a risk. We need nurture a business environment where entrepreneurs can start and small business can grow.

How would your party bring down hydro prices?

There is no quick switch the government can flick to automatically lower hydro rates. Unfortunately, the three main parties' only proposals are to borrow billions of dollar to give ratepayers a discount. This is not a real solution and does not solve the problem.

The Green Party's proposal has two parts - end investment in costly nuclear power by not refurbishing our aging nuclear power plants when they come to the end of their life-cycles, and build the infrastructure to bring in cheaper water generated hydro from Quebec and even Manitoba. New York State is already importing hydro from Quebec because it is a cheaper option. This infrastructure will cost billions and will take time to do, but it is an investment to truly control the cost of our rising hydro rates.

 

Also running as a candidate in the riding is Laura Chesnik, an elementary school teacher. She is listed as an independent candidate by Elections Ontario, but in the past, she has run for federal and provincial office as a Marxist-Leninist.

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