Voters “don’t like” their options, says south Aurora’s NDP candidate

May 31, 2018 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Voters in Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill are looking for options beyond the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives, according to teacher Katrina Sale – and that alternative is what she’s hoping to bring to the riding.
Ms. Sale, the Ontario NDP candidate in Aurora’s south riding is juggling her campaign to be the newly-created Provincial riding’s very first Member of Provincial Parliament with her full-time job as a teacher.
Teaching is her first priority at the moment, she says, but that hasn’t kept her from going door to door to bring what she says is “real change” to the area.
“The main issues I am hearing is they do not like the options that are available on the ballot,” Ms. Sale tells The Auroran. “The Liberals have been in power for 15 years, and they are no longer meeting the needs of the population, and the PCs have chosen Doug Ford as their leader, someone who does not necessarily represent the views of the average PC voter. They are looking for another option.
“[The NDP are] offering another option that invests in the people of this Province. An example of this is the pharmacare program that will give access to the medication people of this province need.”
Describing herself as “always being politically aware and active,” Ms. Sale says her experiences as a teacher have shown her first hand what “cuts” can do to the education system.
“I always try to teach my students that if they want to make a change, they need to step up and do it,” she says. “In a way, I am teaching by example. I have been a teacher for 17 years. I have been very politically active with the Ontario Secondary Schools Teacher Federation (OSSTF), the York Region Labour Council and working on various political campaigns. I have been to Queens Park lobbying York Region MPPs on education issues. I was the Communications and Political Action Representative for OSSTF District 16 for two years.”
Over the last two weeks, the Ontario NDP have seen a surge in voter support, which recent polls published at the end of last week putting the party and leader Andrea Horwath at a significant lead ahead of Doug Ford and the PCs, leaving Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals at a distant third.
Ms. Sale, a curler in her spare time who was on Team Ontario in the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, says she’s felt a shift in interacting with Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill and when asked to pinpoint a factor, she comes back around to the idea of change.
“The NDP has a solid platform that meets the needs of many Ontarians,” she says. “Wynne and the Liberals have proven that they are not the best party for the province anymore and Ford and the Conservatives do not represent their populist and have no public platform. Andrea is an experienced leader. She has listened to the concerns of the population from Lake of the Woods to Windsor and knows what people need out of their leadership and this is reflected in our party’s plan.
“I have a job that I love and I have a family that I love. I am passionate and always stand up for things that are unjust. I am looking forward to being a part of a government that is listening to the population and has a plan to put those concerns into action.”