Meet Your Candidates: Tony Van Bynen (Liberal, Newmarket-Aurora)

August 26, 2021 · 0 Comments

When he first took his seat in the House of Commons in 2019, former Newmarket mayor Tony Van Bynen wanted to be a voice for the people of Newmarket-Aurora.

Just a few months later, however, things went sideways with the global pandemic. Priorities that were not directly related to health and measures related to COVID-19 were put on the backburner, and now that the country is in the midst of another Federal election, he says this election is about laying the foundation “for the important” things in the longer term.

“This election and the next term will be more about recovery than the response,” says Mr. Van Bynen of the pandemic. “I think the response was important, I think we’re making progress, and now it is about laying the foundation for the important things in the longer-term. Those are the things that have become a priority. For me, it is a case of the government understanding what is important to Newmarket-Aurora and Newmarket-Aurora understanding what is in the national interest as well.

“I don’t think my objectives have changed, but how we can go about doing that, and the timelines, I think, have changed quite significantly.”

As a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Van Bynen says he is proud to stand on his party’s record. He places particular pride in the Liberal government’s support for community-centred not-for-profit organizations, efforts to get them back on their feet in the recovery stage of COVID, and significant investments in social enterprise.

He also places pride in Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and what Mr. Van Bynen describes as his ability “to bring the country together.”

“Leadership is about bringing the country together, not dividing it,” he says. “If there was anything I saw in the last 18 months, it’s how the country got together. It’s how we were able to collaborate at the Federal, Provincial, Municipal and local levels.”

Collaboration with all levels of government will be key should the Liberals once again form government on September 20.

As the party rolls out its platform, Mr. Van Bynen says planks related to childcare and health care will have a significant impact on the community, as will continued proposals for job recovery.

“We have made great progress,” he says. I think 92 per cent of the jobs lost [due to the pandemic] have been recovered, but what does that mean in the long term? What does it mean for youth? I want to make sure that what I have heard [in the riding] is heard in Ottawa and that is to make sure we transition to a green recovery and we need to make sure we don’t leave anybody behind. I think this pandemic has shown us some of the vulnerabilities in our society, some racialized, marginalized communities and minority groups, and we have to make sure the recovery itself considers everybody.”

He is also happy to take proposals related to relief for students, opportunities for entrepreneurs to pursue manufacturing and/or jobs that are focused on zero emissions to residents door-to-door, and pursue partnerships with the province to “help hospitals respond to the tremendous growth we have had.”

“Apart from the policy items, I am quite proud of the fact that we have established a very active youth group to get people engaged and to make sure that politics isn’t just something you read in the newspaper; it is something that is going to affect all of us and I think a lot of people have seen how dramatic that impact is,” he says. “I spent a lot of time understanding issues with the Indigenous communities and I want to create greater awareness. That is part of our policy, but I don’t think it was as top-of-mind in Newmarket-Aurora as it might have been and now we understand those situations. Creating a fair and just society, I think, is something that I would like to see as a legacy for our communities as we go forward.”

While Mr. Van Bynen characterizes his first Federal campaign a year-and-a-half ago as one of “learning” – “Capital ‘L’ – capitalize the whole thing if you want!” – as it was a campaign significantly different from a mayoral bid, the issues, he says, also run significantly deeper.

Now, in his second Federal campaign, he is hitting the ground running.

“I am really excited about what is possible if we take the time and we have the courage to be bold and go forward,” he says. “I think there will be clear choices in terms of what Canada will look like as we go forward and one that is being put forward by the Liberal party is very consistent with my values and, I think, the values that people see in me.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter