Rob Boulet, NDP candidate for Nipissing-Timiskaming unveiled the party’s “New Deal for Northern Ontario” platform on September 30 and says “this platform was made for the people of Northern Ontario.”
Boulet says the NDP is the only party that has a plan specifically for the North.
“The people of Northern Ontario are consistently left behind after decades of Liberal and Conservative neglect. Northern Indigenous communities are being treated horrendously, life is becoming less and less affordable, and we’re battling extreme weather conditions caused by climate change," charges Boulet.
"In exchange, Northern Ontarians have watched Justin Trudeau’s Liberals engage in scandal after scandal while Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives wait on the sidelines to cut the remaining services that folks rely on just like Doug Ford and Stephen Harper. It’s time to make different choices and put the people of Northern Ontario before the profits of big corporations.”
The platform is based on five keys priorities that include:
- Putting reconciliation at the heart of our work
- Making life more affordable for Northern Ontario families
- A plan for jobs and growth
- Protecting Northern Ontario’s environment and fighting the climate crisis
- Strong public services Northern Ontario families can rely on
Read the entire platform here.
While short on specifics and costing it does promise to make travel in the north safer and more affordable and boost tourism, by restoring the Northlander train service between Toronto and Cochrane.
It also promises to make FedNor a stand-alone regional economic development agency with a broad mandate to pursue job growth, long-term development, and support the growth of co-operative, Indigenous, and community enterprises.
FedNor is the Government of Canada’s economic development organization for Northern Ontario.
