As most of you probably know, a provincial election will be held in a few days on June 12. If this is your first time hearing about this, perhaps you need to get out from under your rock more. For many of you, this is your first chance to potentially vote, so it is important to know the parties, their values and platforms. On May 28, the local MPP candidates for the Waterloo-Kitchener Riding held a debate in the Great Hall of the SLC. Representatives from the Liberal, NDP, Progressive Conservative, and Green Party all had a chance to get their platforms and values across to potential voters. Naturally, many people would have missed the debate due to scheduling conflicts or ignorance of the event. I will sum up what was said in the debate to aid you in making your vote:
The Candidates
Catherine Fife, NDP – Incumbent MPP
Jamie Burton, Liberal – Incumbent party
Stacey Danckert, Green Party
Tracy Weiler, Progressive Conservative
Catherine Fife, NDP
Catherine Fife is the NDP candidate for Kitchener-Waterloo, and also the incumbent, meaning she was elected previously in 2012, and will be her defending her MPP position. She has a background in education, having served as a trustee and chair for the Waterloo Region District School Board, as well as Vice President for the Canadian School Boards’ association and President for the Ontario School Boards’ Association.
On the issue of rising tuition rates, Fife says the NDP is committed to freezing tuition rates and to taking interest off student loans immediately. Fife claims that the Liberal 30% off tuition plan doesn’t apply to a large portion of students who need it most, such as part-time or adult students.
Regarding the quality of university education, Fife wants to hire more full-time teachers which would result in smaller class sizes. She would like fewer part-time instructors at our institutions, and would prefer them to be replaced with committed full-time instructors, as full-time instructors would improve quality of education. Fife would encourage a greater amount of integration and co-operation between the public school and university institutions. Fife would pay for by cutting bureaucratic waste in the provincial government, streamlining funding, and cutting executive salaries and bonuses.
Regarding employment, Fife says the NDP would support emerging technologies and companies, draw investment to Ontario, and improving transit by raising taxes by 1% and using the money on transit, as well as cutting back on advertising for it. She would use the Quebec and Manitoba models as baselines for improving youth employment.
Jamie Burton, Liberal
Jamie Burton is the Liberal candidate for the riding. She is a co-founder of Dolphin Digital Technologies, an information and communications technology company. She is the recipient of the 2013 Rogers Woman of the Year-Entrepeneur award, as well as the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award. She introduced herself at the debate with a poem. This received mixed reviews, but I applaud her for the attempt.
Regarding tuition rates, Burton says the Liberals will provide an 80% increase to education funding, and that they will continue with the plan they currently have in place. The Liberals will also put a stop to the rising cost of rent for students across Ontario, and that online credits will be in place by 2015.
Burton says that the Liberals will encourage innovation and growth to improve university education quality. Burton sees the University of Waterloo as a rolemodel for other schools and would try to have other schools follow our example.
On employment, Burton points to the Liberal track record in their previous term, pointing out there was net job growth while the Liberals were in power, and that the Liberals will continue to add jobs if they are elected again. She also wants to improve transit to the GTA to make it easier for people here to find jobs in Toronto, and she would create a plan to allow high school students to work for several months before going to university.
Finally, regarding transit, Burton says that the Liberals already had a plan pre-election, and will continue forward with that plan if they’re re-elected. The Liberals have already set aside $25 million for bike paths and transit, and $29 million for transit infrastructure.
Stacey Danckert, Green Party
Stacey Danckert is the Green Party candidate for the riding this election. She recently graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology.
On tuition, Danckert says the Green Party will move tax credit rebates to upfront money, and will extend OSAP. They will also drop graduate student fees.
On education, Danckert says the Green Party will merge the Catholic and Public School Boards together, resulting in a savings increase. Danckert would also incentivize co-op programs and apprenticeships. She would also separate research from teaching, creating dedicated roles for each, instead of forcing professors to do both when they might be poor at one of them.
On employment, Danckert wants to expand co-op programs and apprenticeships, increasing tax credits for companies who accept co-op students. She would increase funding for companies developing and working with green technologies, and would overall increase money available to start-ups to encourage grassroots development in Ontario.
On transit, Danckert said that it is a priority for the Green Party. She would look into the feasibility of electrified tracks to improve speed and efficiency. She also said that she would not increase taxes for transit.
Tracey Weiler, Progressive Conservative
Weiler is the PC candidate for the election. She is a self-employed business analyst that has previously worked for Research in Motion and PricewaterhouseCoopers. From 2008 to 2012, Weiler was also an instructor for Wilfrid Laurier University’s MBA program.
Weiler says the Conservatives will freeze tuition rates and that they do not tie OSAP to high school grades.
Weiler will provide incentives to businesses in Ontario, thus indirectly encouraging companies to aid the community, for example by taking on apprenticeships and co-op students.
On transit, Weiler stressed the need for two-way all day GO trains, and investment in infrastructure. Weiler stated that transportation is a priority for the Conservative Party.
Hopefully this information will aid you in choosing who to vote for. Whatever to do, make sure you get out to vote and make your voice heard on June 12!
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