This page was exported from The Auroran [ http://www.newspapers-online.com/auroran ] Export date:Fri Apr 19 11:30:49 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: A younger perspective on the election --------------------------------------------------- The then First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama said during an election speech in 2016, “When they go low, we go high.” At the time I thought this was a good quote about the state of the American electoral system. They were about to elect Donald Trump as their next President. He is a man with little political experience, but is known the world over for his climb up the corporate and real estate ladder at any expense. He is known to be a bully, to all who do not meet his standards for gender, status, and influence. Unfortunately, many Americans did not see the light until it was too late. Many believed it wouldn't happen. They believed Donald Trump, as President, was a joke. Possibly as an anti-Hillary vote, the Americans ended up with Donald Trump as their President. As upset as I was about this, at least there was the consolation that this was Canada, and we as Canadians were above the political views and actions of division, segregation, and hatred. I whole-heartedly believed this until Doug Ford was nominated as the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. Once again, I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, that same feeling I had the night Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. Ontario, please make no mistake about it: I believe Doug Ford is the Canadian version of Donald Trump. His experience in politics amounts to doing damage control for his brother Rob while he was mayor of Toronto. We in Toronto were the laughing stock of most of North America. I am certain Doug Ford will say absolutely anything to get your vote; his campaign is a fight of greed, ‘for profit', back room deals, chauvinism, and a decline or loss of our social care fabric. He is a “one-man band” who is only concerned with how best he can further his own personal agenda. Please don't be fooled, his talk is cheap. His actions show he does not care about the people of Ontario. If you want to know how Ontario will operate for the next four years under Doug Ford's command as leader of our Provincial Government, you only need to look at the family legacy of chaos, negative publicity, and lack of attention to the real issues down at Toronto City Hall when his late brother was mayor. This looks like a very similar scenario to President Trump's behaviour. I need to tell you this scares the hell out of me. Every day I rely on the Ontario Health Care System, which is already failing Ontarians with chronic illness and our aging population. Hospitals are overcapacity with huge and lengthy wait lists. There are hospital bed and doctor shortages. I have personally experienced, in the Emergency departments in York Region, Toronto, and Ottawa, “hallway healthcare.” (Although I have not actually experienced it, I am sure this is the same all over the province.) There are never enough beds and, at times, it has been ‘standing room only' in the ER. The people coming through ER today are sicker and more complicated than they have ever been. This is the “new normal.” I am extremely concerned, even afraid, that if Doug Ford becomes the next Premier of Ontario this problem will only get worse. Our health care system, as we know it now, will be unrecognizable, as it will be so eroded by underfunding. We do not need cuts to health care spending; we need smarter spending and a more preventative, and pre-emptive health care delivery system. If Doug Ford becomes our Premier, I also believe many of the Social Assistance programs so many vulnerable people rely on, either short or long term, will be cut back severely or terminated completely. This will absolutely destroy this Province, as we know it. I'm not trying to suggest to you that the Ontario Liberals, under Kathleen Wynne, are the natural, best, or only alternative to the PC party with Mr. Ford as the leader. I am simply pointing out that it would be extremely dangerous to go down the PC path especially with Doug Ford as their leader. There are issues even at the local PC level. Christina Elliot is now the PC candidate for Newmarket-Aurora, my home riding. My questions to her would be: Does she really have any true connection to the community? No. Has she lived and worked in that community? No. Does she understand the issues that face the people of our great community? Not that I can see. She was dropped in, as she was unsuccessful attaining the leadership role for the party. I see this as another example of the PC's lack of concern for the people of the Province of Ontario. When you cast your ballot on June 7, I ask you to think about what you want the next four years in Ontario to look like, both locally and provincially In this election, the choice is pretty clear to me. We can either go backwards with a leader Doug Ford and we can welcome “Donald Trump-style” politics to Ontario, or we can choose a better leader from a better party. I want to vote for a party that cares about all the people of Ontario, not just the 1%. As a young person, I have many years still to live, and hopefully, thrive, in Ontario. If the PC party gets elected, especially with Mr. Ford as their leader, I am afraid of the damage that could be done, damage that may be irreversible and/or non-recoverable. Don't turn an anti-Liberal vote into a victory for Doug Ford. On Election Day please remember the quote said by Michelle Obama “when they go low, we go high.” Ben Williamson Student Aurora/Ottawa --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2018-05-31 11:58:54 Post date GMT: 2018-05-31 15:58:54 Post modified date: 2018-05-31 11:58:54 Post modified date GMT: 2018-05-31 15:58:54 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com