Allen announces northern platform

Nipissing-Timiskaming New Democrat candidate
Dianna Allen
News Release

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North Bay - New Democrats across Northern Ontario announced a comprehensive plan to put Northerners and their families first and tackle ongoing challenges like soaring gas prices ignored by Harper and Dion.

“Instead of supporting working families in Northern Ontario, Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion teamed up to give oil companies, banks and insurance companies a $50 billion tax giveaway ignoring the economy, health care, and the environment,” said Nipissing-Timiskaming candidate Dianna Allen. “New Democrats will reverse that.”

Allen explained the New Democrats’ plan for the North in three parts:

ECONOMY

- Continue smart investment in mining exploration and look to sharing revenue with municipalities.

- Institute tough monitoring and the regulation of fuel prices.

- Establish and increase funding for a stronger, community-driven FedNor, to ensure economic development funds stay in the North to create jobs for northern workers.

- Provide low-interest loans and improved grants to make buildings and homes more energy efficient through a national home and building retrofit program. We will help families make the transition from expensive home heating fuels, like oil, to cleaner alternatives. This will create jobs and cut down on energy bills.

HEALTH CARE

- Train an additional 28,000 nurses, doctors and other health professionals.

- Use educational incentives to keep in-demand professionals in the North.

- Expand the use of nurse practitioners and clinics to bring primary health care to more communities.

- Support the Northern Ontario School of Medicine by expanding Northern community placements.

ENVIRONMENT

- Introduce a comprehensive new Clean Water Act with tough enforceable standards for drinking water quality, starting with standards for First Nation reserves.

- Create a training fund for green-collar jobs for new and displaced workers to gain the skills needed to work in the New Energy Economy. We can make Northern Ontario a world leader in the development of clean, green energy from renewable sources like wind, solar, water and biomass.

“With Jack Layton as Prime Minister, Northerners will get a government that puts their priorities first. A government that will put the kitchen table before the boardroom table,” Allen said.

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