As part of her provincial campaign, Ontario Liberal Party leader Bonnie Crombie stopped by G.A.B.’s Restaurant & Bar in Rockland to answer questions from the media. Alongside Glengarry-Prescott-Russell Liberal candidate Trevor Stewart, Crombie highlighted plans for the region should her party be elected to run the province.
Stewart opened the event by stating, “Mr. Ford, in seven years as Premier, has not been here to Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. For Crombie, this is her fifth visit here in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell and her third visit to Rockland. That’s what counts: having leaders who are there for us and who hear our values.”
Crombie emphasized, “I love this town, but it reminds me of so many others in Eastern and Western Ontario that are really hurting. When I look around and I ask people, ‘Is your life more affordable today than it was before Doug Ford?’ clearly the answer is ‘no.'”
She questioned where the doctors were and the tax cuts that were promised by the Ford government, and stressed how families are making difficult decisions to get by in their day-to-day life.
“We have made the commitment to ensure everyone has a family doctor in the next four years and a few other commitments to make life more affordable, because you see it when you go to the grocery stores. You see the moms at the checkout lineups holding their breath, questioning whether their credit card would go through one more time,” Crombie explained.
As part of the Ontario Liberal promise, Crombie said that “small business taxes will be cut in half to benefit small business owners, from 3.2 to 1.6 per cent. That should put about $18,000 back into the pockets of these owners to help them retain staff and maybe even hire a few more.”
“For everyone else, we’re going to cut your income taxes. Everyone, on the first $75,000 that you earn, you’re going to pay less, bringing it down from nine per cent to seven per cent,” she continued.
Another way Crombie wants to combat the high cost of living in Ontario is to remove the HST off home heating and hydro, which would save an average person approximately $1,150 per year.
Crombie then explained that the Ontario Liberals would ensure more French-speaking doctors, nurses, and PSWs are trained to accommodate the language needs of Eastern Ontario, stating that the current government would not prioritize the needs of the Francophone communities.
During the question period, Crombie showed frustration with Doug Ford, stating, “If you have something to complain about, come to me, show your face. Where’s he been? Where has he been? He called an early, unnecessary election at the cost of $189 million, and he’s been absent for 50 per cent of it. Be accountable and be a leader.”
She dug in further by saying, “Did you know he put more money into the foreign spa at Ontario Place than he’s put into his healthcare plan, which, of course, he announced the day before the election? He’s cut funding to our hospitals. Cut funding to healthcare. Cut funding to education. Our schools and hospitals are crumbling, and he won’t show his face because he doesn’t want to be accountable.”
Crombie then briefly spoke on the rising Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) costs that municipalities in Eastern and Northern Ontario were facing. On average, municipalities within the riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell faced tax increases ranging between five and ten per cent.
“That is something I will need to look more closely about, that burden being put on small towns and municipalities,” she concluded.
Photos by Philip Oddi:
