Editorials, Letters & Political Commentary

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to media reports that pharmacies will be tapped to do testing of people who are symptomatic for COVID, and who have had close contact with people who are COVID-positive: “Pharmacies need to be safe for seniors, immunocompromised people and parents with unvaccinated little ones, who all need and deserve to ...

It is common and the norm for politicians to receive large quantities of phone calls, letters, and emails about particular issues in the headlines.  Those who read this column last week will understand why I think this is a good thing.  Readers will recall that my staff and I see this as a means of keeping our fingers on the ...

Il est courant et normal que les politiciens reçoivent de grandes quantités d’appels téléphoniques, des lettres et courriels sur des problèmes particuliers qui apparaissent dans les journaux. Ceux qui ont lu cette chronique la semaine dernière comprendront pourquoi je pense que c’est une bonne chose. Les lecteurs se souviendront que mon personnel et moi voyons cela comme un moyen de ...

Seniors across the country were shocked to learn that benefits they rely on such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) have been cut because they received pandemic supports like the CERB. New Democrats are calling on the Liberal government to fix this devastating situation that has left many seniors worried they won’t be able to afford their rent, food and ...

Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to the Ford government’s refusal to mandate vaccines for health workers: “Unvaccinated staff should not be allowed in the ICU, in pediatric wards with sick babies, in the homes of vulnerable home care patients, or anywhere at all in health care, or in our children’s schools. Doug Ford ...

The NDP MPs in Northern Ontario, Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) and Charlie Angus (Timmins – James Bay) are calling on Justin Trudeau to get back to work before November 22 and to reverse his decision to take away help for Canadians to get through the pandemic in the middle of the fourth wave. “Now more than ever, people need a federal ...

L’autre jour, nous avons eu l’une de nos réunions hebdomadaires du personnel de bureau pour discuter des dossiers, des problèmes et sujets des appels et des lettres à mon bureau. Un membre de l’équipe a souligné que la surveillance du compte de messagerie est comme un professionnel de la santé surveillant la tension artérielle d’une personne sur une période de ...

The other day we had one of our weekly office staff team meetings to discuss casework, issues and trends in calls and letters to my offices.  One team member pointed out that monitoring the email account is like a medical professional monitoring someone’s blood pressure over an extended period of time.  Looking over the patient’s readings and taking note of ...

I am writing because of the recent Council News that the EDC will be cancelled. I understand the function of Town Council is to economically make decisions that benefit the community. The EDC has a separate function. It benefits the community through direct interaction with the citizens of the community always with a social justice mandate in mind. This is ...

Nous savons tous que dans la vie, parfois les choses tournent mal. Malheureusement, à l’heure actuelle, il semble que tel soit le cas pour le système de santé de l’Ontario. Bien avant le début de la pandémie et tous les problèmes qui l’ont accompagnée, les responsables des soins de santé de l’Ontario ont tiré la sonnette d’alarme. Ils essayaient désespérément ...

We’ve all heard the saying that it never rains, but it pours. We all know that in life, sometimes things go wrong. Unfortunately, at the moment, it appears that such is the case for Ontario’s health care system. Long before the onset of the pandemic and all of the issues that came in tow with it, Ontario health care officials ...

In Sault Ste. Marie Thursday, October 14th, 2021, Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called for an urgent health care recruitment and retention action plan to relieve and respect exhausted health care workers, and turn around growing wait times for patients. Ontario’s Science Table reports that 43 per cent of members of Registered Nurses Association of Ontario are considering leaving ...

Now that the summer recess and subsequent prorogation until October is finally finished, a few days ago, I was making my way back to Toronto to get set up in my apartment and office for the upcoming new session.  I know that my colleagues and I are excited to get back into the House. It was clear from our recent ...

As gasoline prices soar across Northern Ontario, northern NDP MPPs are calling out Doug Ford for failing to act after three years in government despite having an NDP bill that would put an end to gas price gouging in Northern Ontario. The following statement was released by MPPs Gilles Bisson (Timmins), John Vanthof (Timiskaming-Cochrane), France Gélinas (Nickel Belt), Jamie West ...

Northerners are once again finding themselves taking a back seat to the transportation interests and concerns of politicians in Southern Ontario.   The Ministry of Transportation very recently unveiled a pilot project for GO Train service between Toronto and London — by way of Kitchener, Stratford and St Mary’s. The trial runs are expected to cost Ontario taxpayers $2.5 million ...