With simply over two weeks till ballots are forged for the Ontario election, voters are beginning to hone in on the important thing points affecting them of their ridings.
In CBC Okay-W’s second voter panel, hosted Monday on The Morning Version with Craig Norris, voters from Perth-Wellington and Waterloo gathered to share their views on what issues most to them.
For Stratford’s Ron Garland and Waterloo’s Carol Moogk-Soulis and Rodney Chan, these points had been well being care, public transit and social housing.
Well being care beneath pressure
Garland emphasised {that a} lack of main care and hospital beds in Perth-Wellington are making a disaster for his neighborhood.
“Emergency rooms shut down regularly,” mentioned Garland, including “hospitals are struggling to maintain their beds open.”
Garland mentioned 1000’s of individuals in Perth-Wellington haven’t got entry to a main care supplier.
“That is against the law, in my view.”
Transit funding
For Chan, the important thing challenge on this election is public transportation. He highlighted how important public transit is for accessing well being care, training, work and groceries.
“It is a key lifeline for folks and it is simply been starved of funding for the previous few many years on this province,” mentioned Chan.
The Ontario Progressive Conservatives have promised formidable GO transit growth and funding if re-elected, however Chan mentioned huge capital spending is not sufficient to keep up the next normal of public transportation.
“We see that higher ranges of presidency like to fund huge infrastructure tasks to allow them to minimize the ribbon, however the important thing day-to-day operations funding is what is required to run frequent service, dependable service,” he mentioned.
He mentioned inter-city transit between Waterloo area, Guelph and Brantford is required, and “there’s presently no frequent direct connection between all of them.”
The decline of social housing
For Moogk-Soulis, the provision of social housing has declined drastically since she used it herself as a scholar in her youth.
Referencing NDP MP Charlie Angus’s ebook A Harmful Reminiscence, she mentioned she was amazed to learn that in Toronto within the Eighties, “between 20,000 and 30,000 social housing items had been constructed per 12 months.”
“I bear in mind having grown up right here, so many social housing packages, tasks,” she mentioned. “After which they stopped.”
Moogk-Soulis mentioned that for some folks, social housing was a perpetually residence and for others like herself, it is a transitional section.
“We did not have folks residing in tents. It makes me very unhappy to see that,” she mentioned.
“When did we cease worrying sufficient about folks to take a look at the previous, have a look at a number of the options?”
Deciding on the poll field
When requested whether or not their native candidates had been addressing these key points, the panelists had been largely disillusioned.
Garland mentioned he feels his native Ontario Liberal candidate works with seniors and that she’s “undoubtedly advocating for healthcare.”
Moogk-Soulis famous, “I am simply listening to huge issues, huge issues,” from the Ontario PCs. She worries they are not focusing sufficient on the smaller wants of the neighborhood.
Chan talked about that whereas the NDP, Greens and Liberals have proposed concepts that align nicely along with his concepts of public constructing and native transit assist, the guarantees stay unproven. Alternatively, Chan mentioned the PCs have essentially the most formidable imaginative and prescient of constructing out the broader transit community.
When it got here right down to the choices the panelists could be making on their poll, there was much less conviction and extra uncertainty.
Garland mentioned he is determined, Moogk-Soulis mentioned she is aware of who she won’t be voting for, and Chan mentioned it is nonetheless a toss up.
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