The Bradford Board of Trade (BBT) organized a meet and greet Thursday evening at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library with York-Simcoe MPP candidates ahead of the provincial election on June 2.
The event provided residents with a chance to speak one-on-one with candidates, who were sitting at booths around the conference room, while also giving each candidate a five-minute window to tell the room about themselves, their party, and their platform.
Candidates in attendance were Walter Alvarez-Bardales (Liberal Party), Julie Stewart (Green Party), Zachary Tisdale (Libertarian Party), Brent Fellman (New Blue Party), and Alana Hollander (Ontario Party). Registered candidates not in attendance were Caroline Mulroney (PC Party), Spencer Ki (NDP), and Franco Colavecchia (Ontario Moderate Party).
In past years the BBT has hosted a debate for the candidates, but with around 20 people in attendance this year, they explained that this was more focused on giving residents a chance to get to know the candidates.
“Like past meet the candidate nights, we’ve invited all registered candidates to participate, but unlike past years we will not be having a debate,” said Natasha Leskiw, BBT VP of Public Relations. “We wanted to give you guys the chance to ask questions and speak to the candidates.”
The first candidate to speak was Tisdale, who said the Libertarian Party aims to reduce government involvement while promoting freedom and reducing costs for Ontarians.
“We stand for freedom and liberty,” he said. “We seek to increase individual responsibility and reduce the role of government in our personal lives. We promote freedom of association, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, economic freedom, and the freedom of choice without harm to others.”
Tisdale explained he got into politics because of the “vast” government overreach he witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic and that reducing the government’s role will help in economic recovery.
“I believe the key to prosperity in Ontario is by reducing the size and cost of our government; finding market-based solutions to economic problems; empowering business owners and encouraging foreign investment through lower taxes and deregulation; respecting personal expression to people's lifestyle, identity, and religion; defending property rights, individual rights, bodily autonomy, and the rights of parents to raise their children how they see fit,” he said. “We need to address housing by reducing red tape for developers and getting the government out of the way. I believe we need to build the Bradford Bypass while respecting the environmental assessment.”
Following Tisdale, Alvarez-Bardales, a Guatemalan immigrant who escaped a civil war, spoke about his belief to lead with compassion while touching on the need to improve healthcare for minorities.
“We need to return to working together as a nation and a province, and as political parties,” he said. “We can work together, it’s possible. The reason I joined politics is because I noticed people in today’s day and age face barriers to healthcare based on the colour of their skin, sexual preference, and Indigenous ancestry. It breaks my heart that this still happens today, that’s why I decided to join politics, to see if I can offer solutions.”
Alvarez-Bardales said that Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca’s plan resonated with him because it prioritizes healthcare access, seniors, and education.
“We need to support our nurses and stop capping their salaries,” he said. “We also need to take care of our elderly and treat them with the dignity they deserve. We need to support education. Those are the three pillars, but we also need to treat each other with compassion and listen to each other. My vision is to work together to represent all of you because we need unity to move forward.”
Fellman, who also serves as president of Innisfil Minor Baseball, spoke next about how the New Blue Party offers Conservative voters an option that might more align with them than the current PC Party.
“We don’t feel the PC Party is a conservative party, we feel they’ve gone too far to the left,” he explained. “Typically, I would vote Conservative, but they’ve gone so far left that I couldn’t vote for them and I checked out the New Blue and they fit conservatives to a tee. Ford is running record deficits, that’s not what a conservative is. One of the main problems right now is everyone thinks the same. We need the New Blue; they think differently and outside of the box.”
As a former business owner, Fellman says he's seen how the pandemic has impacted business and fully supports the New Blue’s plan to ensure no more lockdowns or mandates.
“If you’re a business owner, I know what it takes and the pressures business owners have had the last few years,” he said. “What a terrible time for businesses. Many are having to shovel out of the debt they’ve put on during lockdowns. We should not be controlled by fear when making decisions, that’s been a major problem during the pandemic.”
With a clear focus on the environment as a Green candidate, Stewart talked about how, as a teacher, she strives to teach her students about environmental stewardship and eco-friendly lifestyles.
“One of the main reasons I decided to run is because we’re in a climate crisis and I’m incredibly alarmed with the direction the current government is taking us,” she said. “We need bold urgent action and the right leadership that takes the climate crisis seriously—we need new solutions to old problems. The Green Party is here to stand up for the environment and ensure we have a livable plant now and for future generations.”
According to Stewart, the Greens have a plan that will meet international targets of protecting 30 per cent of the land and water by 2030.
“To protect our water systems, the Green Party wants to double the size of the existing Greenbelt to include a Bluebelt of critically important watersheds, basins, and river systems, this would include the Lake Simcoe watershed,” she said. “Protecting those resources is profitable. They provide us with ecosystem services such as cleaning the air and filtering the water, worth more than $3 billion a year. The Greens will also stop the Bradford Bypass. It might seem like a convenient idea right now, but our children and children’s children will be sorry. We can’t continue actively destroying our environment.”
Finally, Hollander voiced the belief of the Ontario Party that Christianity needs to become more of a focal point in government.
“The purpose of the Ontario Party is to bring back true conservative values to the voters,” she said. “We’ll stand up for the right to life, we’ll stand up against masks and mandatory vaccine mandates, and we won’t stand by while pastors who try to keep their churches open get prosecuted. The Ontario Party is the only choice for Christians who are freedom-minded and believe the province should be based on Biblical foundations.”
Hollander explained the Ontario Party is socially conservative and, if elected, plans to make all COVID mandates illegal and launch investigations into charter abuses by the Government of Ontario.
“We hear a lot about vote splitting, such as, ‘if I vote for the Ontario Party, I’ll be taking a vote away from the Conservatives.’ But the Conservatives started splitting the vote by pushing social conservatives out. People need to vote on principle, throwing your vote away would be voting for a party that no longer represents conservative values. Not throwing your vote away would be supporting a party that actually believes what you believe. You need to vote for someone you can trust.”
The provincial election is set for June 2, with advanced voting already underway.
