Editorials & Letters

On Tuesday, Canada’s NDP introduced Pharamacare legislation, outlining the New Democrats’ expectations of the government on the universal prescription medication program.  As part of the Confidence and Supply agreement, New Democrats are using their power to force the government to pass pharmacare legislation by the end of the year. Northern Ontario NDP MP’s Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) and Carol Hughes ...

Dear Brenda, I have sent the following letter to the Municipality of Wawa asking where the crushed rock that was placed along the shore of Wawa Lake. This crushed rock was used to line the bioswales and to create a shoreline cladding to protect the waterfront from erosion. Joe Leadbetter   June 11th, 2023 Municipality of Wawa Chief Administration Officer ...

In the final Question Period of the legislative session (June 8, 2023), NDP MPP for Sudbury, Jamie West, called on the Ford Government to remove the cost-prohibitive barriers blocking Northern Ontarians from accessing proper care through the Northern Health Travel Grant. The current system places an undue burden on individuals who must travel long distances to receive specialized health care, ...

On Thursday, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called for a national response, and investment to tackle the hundreds of fires that are burning across Canada that have put the air quality in Canadian cities, and thousands of Canadians at risk. With a record-breaking wildfire season, and temperatures only expected to rise in July and August, Canada needs a plan to ensure ...

  On Tuesday, NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) called on the government to start respecting Jordan’s Principle and reimburse health-care providers for their care to First Nations children. Under Jordan’s Principle, the government is legally obligated to ensure all First Nation children have access to health care, no matter where they live or the cost. Due to the Liberal ...

On Tuesday, NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) pushed the Liberals on their lack of action to address the growing housing crisis in the North. With support programs running out of funding, and hundreds of waitlists for homes, Angus is calling on the government to sit down with the various social services boards of the North and step up with ...

Dear Brenda This is the latest in the runoff that’s going into Wawa Lake. These pictures tell the whole story. I want to know who is responsible for what is happening to Wawa Lake. Do you? People who share my concerns can contact me by email at: [email protected] Signed Joe Leadbetter

Dear Brenda,   I am sending you some photographs showing the runoff from the old Sir James Dunn Mine (open pit) that is located at the end of Wawa Lake. The first photograph shows runoff from the pit, and the runoff collecting in the waterways and watershed of Wawa Lake.     Last year, I was concerned with the orangey ...

Jamie West (Sudbury), the NDP Critic for Labour, and Health Critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) issued the following statement in response to the government’s announcement today that underground Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) in mines will be lowered from 400 to 120 mcg/mg. United Steelworkers (USW) has been asking Ford’s Conservatives to reduce this number to 20 mcg/g for years, as ...

NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay-Superior North) and strong advocate for safer roads in Northern Ontario, is once again urging the Ford government to take immediate action following another week of tragic accidents involving truckers in Northern Ontario. This week, a 47-year-old woman lost her life after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community. Vaugeois ...

Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain), NDP critic for Children, Community, and Social Services, is fighting to pass a bill that would create a new alert for missing vulnerable persons. “This bill is an important, common-sense way to fill a gap in our existing system,” said Taylor. “In an emergency situation, when a family is frantically looking for a vulnerable loved one, ...

Official Opposition NDP Leader, Marit Stiles took Ford’s Conservatives to task on a budget that fails to meet the moment. Stiles has a vision of an Ontario with more opportunity and prosperity for everyone – not just for Ford’s well-connected insiders. “Ford’s Conservatives want you to think that this is the new normal – that this is as good as ...

NDP MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) has been a long-time champion of a solution to provide OHIP coverage for prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer when referred by a healthcare provider. Today his important legislation failed to move forward after conservative members voted against it. “Frankly I’m disappointed, but not surprised—this has consistently been the tone of this ...

Ontario’s third quarter fiscal update shows that Ford is deliberately starving health care and education of critical resources. NDP Finance critic, MPP Catherine Fife (Waterloo), released the following statement: “Budgets are about priorities. It’s clear from today’s fiscal update that the government has the resources and ability to invest in Ontarians and is deliberately and callously choosing not to. Over ...

The Ontario Federal Electoral Boundary Commission has submitted their final report on electoral boundaries today to the House of Commons which reduces representation in Northern Ontario, according to Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, and Charlie Angus, MP for Timmins-James Bay. “With the final report, the number of ridings representing Northern Ontario are being reduced from ten to nine,” said Hughes. ...