Wynne stops by Hamilton hoping to woo voters’ heads and hearts
Liberal leader says she has confidence that Ontarians will focus on facts, not slogans
PREMIER KATHLEEN WYNNE has faith that Ontario residents will cast their ballots on June 7 based on the facts — even if the Liberal leader garnered more of an emotional reaction from some onlookers in Hamilton Monday morning.
Wynne made a brief stop in Hamilton at Vintage Coffee Roasters at King Street East and Barnesdale Avenue North to chat with locals and supporters, including Liberal candidates Deirdre Pike (Hamilton Centre), Judi Partridge (FlamboroughGlanbrook) and MPP Ted McMeekin (Hamilton West-Ancaster Dundas).
But just as Wynne’s campaign bus was pulling away, residents of an apartment building across the street had a few choice words for the premier. Gathering on their balconies, several residents shouted “Go back to Toronto!” and “NDP all the way!” as Wynne climbed onto her bus.
The moment was indicative of the public’s dissatisfaction with the Liberals, especially in a NDP-centric area of the city (the event was held in Hamilton Centre, the riding currently held by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath).
But while Wynne says she understands there’s a lot of “volatility” in the province, she believes voters will ignore the campaign slogans and focus on the real issues.
“I trust the people of Ontario. I trust the democratic process. And I trust that the people of Ontario will make their decision, and I respect that,” she said. “But we need to, in an election campaign, make sure that everyone knows what the facts are, so people can make an informed decision.”
Wynne sat down for an exclusive interview with The Spectator Monday afternoon to discuss her plans for Hamilton, her rivals, and her take on local issues. (Some comments have been edited for space and clarity).
Would a Liberal government share operating costs of the LRT, as well as maintain its $1 billion commitment to build it?
That has not been part of our plan, because we know that the critical function is to get the transit built. The other parties have consistently voted against our initiatives to get transit built, and yet, there is a crying need. I’ve been to hundreds of municipalities across the province, and there’s a real need for infrastructure building — including transit building — that hasn’t been tackled by previous governments. We’ve got to keep that building going, because people need to be able to get around and businesses need to be able to move their goods — particularly in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
The Liberals proposed widening the 403 through Hamilton and parts of the QEW three years ago as part of an alternative to building a new midpeninsula superhighway. Is this still part of your plan?
We’re very committed to doing everything we can to avoid building new roads. By that, I mean new, big highways that take out corridors in the greater Golden Horseshoe. We want to make sure that all of the transit options are in place, all of the expansion options for the QEW, all of the GO Transit options, are in place, so that we remove that congestion from the roads without building new roads that aren’t necessary.
There are more women running in Hamilton than ever before. What has it been like for you personally in this climate where women are taking centre stage? Does it feel different this time around?
It feels like we’re making some progress, particularly with so many women in the Liberal and NDP ranks. It’s such a healthy thing. Does it feel different? It feels optimistic. What makes me really happy is there are young women coming forward — women who have new ideas and have different life experiences, and have that perspective on the future of their own communities, their own families, that is so important to have at the table. If we can see, at least with the two parties, a 50/50 breakdown of men and women, that’s a really important, important change. We’ve had a commitment over the last number of elections to have 50 per cent of our candidates in unheld ridings as women, and we’ve been able to stick to that.
What’s your take on the local race here in Hamilton? Ted McMeekin is running again — do you think that the Liberals can maintain that seat? Take other seats?
Ted is such a strong advocate for Hamilton, and I have every confidence in him. We’ve got great candidates — Deirdre Pike, Ted, Jennifer (Stebbing), Damin (Starr) — they are really, really strong voices in their communities. These are uphill battles for sure, but I’m just thrilled to have them on the team. Someone like Judi Partridge is a very, very strong community voice, has been on council, and has a terrific reputation. The calibre of candidates we have had come forward is quite outstanding.
We are a health care hub here in Hamilton. What will you do to fix the problems in the health-care system?
Health care is the clearest expression of our care for one another. I know that there have been real changes in our healthcare system. The fact of an aging demographic, the fact of people wanting to stay in their homes longer, all of that has put pressure on the health-care system to provide a different kind of care. This is why we’ve been putting billions of dollars into home care, it’s why there’s more community care that’s available to people.
What we’ve said in this budget is we’re going to increase funding to hospitals — we put $500 million into hospital budgets last year, but the Ontario Hospital Association has said “We need more in the order of $820 million,” so $822 million is what’s in our budget. We recognize that we need to hire more nurses, we need to have more acute care resources in hospital, but at the same time, there’s also a need for more supports for mental health. So there’s $2.1 billion for mental health.
You recently promised $6.8 million to help create affordable rental housing. Hamiltonians are very concerned about rising housing prices, gentrification, and not being able to afford housing. How will your government address that here in Hamilton?
Building more supply is really an important part of that. I’m really pleased that we have a federal government that has a national housing strategy, and we’re going to match that dollar for dollar. Our intention is that as we do that, we’ll see more co-op housing, for example. We’ll see more alternative supportive housing built. Because sometimes it’s about the four walls and a roof, and sometimes it’s about the supports that go with the four walls and a roof.
A video of the full interview is available online at thespec.com.
ereilly@thespec.com 905-526-2452 | @EmmaatTheSpec Editor’s note: The Spec extended invitations to all three major party leaders for a one-on-one interview or an editorial board meeting. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will sit down with the Editorial Board on Thursday. Doug Ford’s campaign has not responded to the Spec’s request.