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Q&A: York-Simcoe Liberal candidate Loralea Carruthers

We asked the same five questions to all six of York-Simcoe’s provincial election candidates. This is what Liberal Loralea Carruthers had to say.
Loralea Carruthers
Liberal York-Simcoe MPP candidate Loralea Carruthers. Submitted photo

What are the top three biggest issues facing York-Simcoe?

The biggest issue in this election is the stark choice before us. It’s a choice between investing in care or making cuts, a choice between whether our riding is represented by an experienced, local leader, or someone who is not from our community and who has no experience serving constituents.

In this riding, I came incredibly close to defeating the Conservative incumbent in 2014, and I am the candidate running the only campaign capable of defeating Doug Ford’s parachute candidate from downtown Toronto.

Our riding needs continued investments, not the radical cuts Doug Ford proposes. Our plan will continue to invest in education, with publicly funded preschool, full-day kindergarten, new schools and free tuition for 235,000 students. We also need to expand OHIP+, which funds 4,400 prescriptions for children and youth, to seniors. We need more long-term care beds and to work toward a new hospital for South Simcoe.

I’m a business woman who raised her children in the community. I have over 15 years of public service as trustee on the school board, I've worked to protect our environment and served on my public library board. I live here and understand our issues firsthand — unlike my Conservative opponent.

I’m running to invest in care, to fix traffic and to provide experienced, local leadership.

How will you help Bradford West Gwillimbury manage its growth?

I believe in smart growth. Conservative leader Doug Ford was caught on tape saying he wants to develop a “big chunk” of the greenbelt because it’s “just farmers’ fields.” This is an alarming statement, and shows the Conservatives’ true agenda of being beholden to their developer friends.

We need an experienced, local leader who understands the pressures of growth and knows that we need to continue to invest to build up our public services — not someone who lives in Toronto and doesn’t understand the pressures of a growing town.

That is why I have unveiled a platform for Bradford West Gwillimbury that focuses on improving our traffic problems through all-day GO service and the Highway 400-404 Link, as well as investing in our public services, specifically three new elementary schools, a new high school and a new hospital campus to serve South Simcoe.

We need to invest to improve our traffic problems and provide the high-quality public services residents expect.

Where do Ontarians experience the most red tape, and what needs to be done about it?

We need to work with our farmers and small business owners to continue to reduce red tape, while also ensuring we keep high-quality protections for the labour rights and environmental concerns that we expect to protect our land, rivers, wetlands and the lake.

I believe any new regulation ought to come with a thorough review of what already exists, and I would want to ensure our local residents, farmers in particular, can navigate the system with ease.

If elected, what would be your first priority?

My first priority is building off of Mayor Rob Keffer and council’s advocacy that resulted in getting the Ontario Liberal government to put the Highway 400-404 Link on the growth plan. We need to seize this momentum and ensure the Link is designed, funded and constructed.

I was the first candidate to make this commitment, and only our party has the plan and funding in place to build the infrastructure we need.

Unlike my Conservative opponent, I sit every day in traffic on Green Lane, so I know the need for the Link firsthand.

The Conservatives propose drastic cuts, including a pledge from Doug Ford to force municipalities to cut their own spending.

We cannot build a highway through Conservative cuts, and neither can we trust the NDP, when they’ve admitted their platform has a $1.4-billion (costing) mistake in it. But as an experienced, local leader who has long stood up for our community’s needs, I will get this done for all of us.

What do you want York-Simcoe residents to know about you?

I want my neighbours to know that I’m in politics because I wanted to improve my kids’ schools. I’ve worked for over 15 years to represent my neighbours, to protect our environment, to improve our schools and libraries, and to advocate for consumer rights for new homeowners.

I’m passionate about our community and ensuring we build an even better one.

In this race, I really do feel it matters that a local leader represents our local needs. I have the experience of local, elected public service. I raised my family here and have lived here for decades.

If you agree with me that our community should not be represented by someone who has only come here in order to run for public office, then I hope you will cast your ballot for me, and for the local plan of investing in public services and improving traffic that I am offering.