Amanda Simard was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell in 2018 as a Progressive Conservative (PC). Later that year, she left the party in objection to changes the government made to francophone services and sat as an independent until joining the Liberal caucus at Queen’s Park in 2020.
Now seeking re-election as the Liberal candidate, Simard says one issue is first and foremost on the minds of voters.
“The cost of living, making life more affordable, hands down.”
Simard speaks of the Ontario Liberal Party’s 19-point affordability platform. The main points include extending the $10 per day childcare program to include before and after school time, double the provincial amount of Old Age Security for low-income senior citizens, restore rent controls as they existed under the former Liberal government, and ensure full health benefits for every worker, including eye care and medication. A Liberal government would also remove the interest on student loans and enact policies that would construct 1.5 million new homes affordable for first-time buyers. Simard says the policies are necessary as life returns to normal after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to make life more affordable, because we need quality of life,” says Simard.
A Liberal government would review the approval previously granted for the proposed cement plant near L’Orignal. Simard says Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca is committed to the review.
“We are going to do that.”
Simard has long contended that the approval was granted using insufficient data and has questioned the Ford government about it repeatedly.
The Ontario Liberals are also proposing to restore Grade 13 on a temporary basis.
