HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2014-06-11, Page 7CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 6
Thompson has spoken regularly in
opposition to wind turbines since she was
elected in 2011. Schenkfeels her opponent
has focussed too much on the wind issue,
arguing there are other issues in Huron -
Bruce that constituents are telling her
about on a daily basis.
However, Schenk knows there have
been mistakes in the way wind power has
been introduced in the province, since tur-
bines were first proposed for Ontario in
the final years of the Ernie Eves
government
"(Turbines) were first introduced, of
course, by the Conservatives in Ontario,
with no regulations whatsoever. The Liber-
als came in and they started putting regu-
lations in place," Schenk said. "But, I think
it probably should have been delivered a
little bit differently, and looked at a little bit
differently, with more consultation, from
the beginning'
Despite the controversy, the turbines,
Schenk believes, play a role in one of main
sectors of the Huron -Bruce economy:
energy production
"Huron -Bruce is the powerhouse of the
province," she said. "It's home to Bruce
Power:'
While the nuclear power generator has
the full support of Schenk, the notion of
building a deep geological repository in
the riding does not. She'd rather see waste
reduction initiatives further researched as
to allow long-term above ground storage,
as has been the scenario at the Bruce site
for a number of years.
Schenk is also concerned with the
divide between rural and urban concerns
in Ontario, an issue on which she differs
from her party leader.
When speaking to Sun Media in April,
premier Kathleen Wynne said didn't buy
the idea of a rural -urban divide, saying it
was "a myth that has been exploited for
political reasons" But the local candidate
said she has seen that divide first hand,
during her three year term as president of
the Ontario Public School Boards
Association.
It was also during that term where she
first met Wynne, then serving as minister
of education.
"We would sit across the table from one
another and wouldn't always agree on
everything 100 per cent, but we would
always come to an agreement," Schenk
said of the premier. "She's a straight
shooter; what you see is what you get. She
always impressed me. I always enjoyed
workingwith her'
That respect for the premier helped
Schenk decide to run for office in the pro-
vincial election. However, in Huron -Bruce,
manywould feel that Schenk, or any other
candidate, would be facing an uphill battle
to unseat Thompson, who won in 2011 by
approximately 4,500.
The reaction she has been receiving as
she's knocked on doors across the riding
has been "excellent," Schenk said, adding
this didn't surprise her.
"(The Liberals) have a very strong leader
(in) Kathleen Wynne," Schenk said. "A lot
of people like Kathleen; she's a very strong
individual, a very honest individual, and
that is impressing folks:'
Moreover, Schenk feels the Liberals
have the plan that will keep residents of
Huron -Bruce content, focussing 011 the
issues that concem them. One
of those issues are the future of
area hospitals.
While in Walkerton for a
campaign stop, Wynne
assured Schenk all the hospi-
tals in the riding will be safe
from closure.
"There's no danger of dos-
ing any of them. Our hospitals
are just too far apart to close,"
Schenk said. "You can't regu-
late health care emergencies
between the hours of 9 and 3....
We need to make that we have
a full, operative emergency
department and that we have a
hospital that is there for the
people'
Schenk also lauded the Lib-
eral promise to provide a $4
per hour raise to personal sup-
port workers, as outlined in the
failed 2014 Liberal budget, as a
way to help people spend their
final days in the comfort of
their homes, as opposed to
entering assisted living
facilities.
While Schenk believes local-
ized health care is the best for
Huron -Bruce's residents, her
experience in the education
system has shown her that
sometimes tough decisions
need to be made to provide the
be educational situation for
our students.
"It's the most difficult thing
you've ever had to do if you're
a trustee is to close a schoor
she said. A recent report com-
missioned by the Bluewater
District School Board, which
has approximately a dozen
schools in the Huron -Bruce
riding, stated the board may
have to close up to 18 schools
in the next 15 years.
For Schenk, keeping a
school open is not as impor-
tant as students getting the
best education possible.
"I would rather spend the
money on good, positive class-
rooms and deliverance of edu-
cation then on a building. It's
difficult on communities, for
sure... and that's not forgotten.
But, ultimately, to deliver the
best education in the class-
room is to make sure we have
the money for that. And it has
to go into the classroom:'
Schenk has been in public
service for nearly 20 years,
serving on the Avon -Maitland
District School Board. She has
also played a pivotal role on
the board of directors for local
chapters of Habitat for
Humanity and Mothers
Against Drunk Driving.
Schenk and her husband
live in Wingham, where they
raised their three children.
On top of her nearly two
decades as a school trustee,
Schenk holds a degree in land-
scape architecture, and previ-
ously worked for the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources
designing provincial parks.
She's confident in a Liberal
victory and convinced she's
going to be the one to get the
concerns of Huron -Bruce
heard at Queen's Park
"I'm not a person to run
away from challenges. I meet
challenges head on and I
intend to do that when
elected:'
LISA THOMPSON, PC
"Huron Bruce has so
much opportunity, we just
have to harness it and have
government get out of the
way."
Those were words from
incumbent Progressive Con-
servative (PC) MPP Lisa
Thompson in an interview
Tuesday morning.
"We need to have every-
thing line up so we can con-
tinue to innovate and grow
and that's what is motivating
me to work very hard during
this campaign," she said.
Thompson said the cur-
rent Liberal Government,
with its introduction of the
2013/2014 budget, does not
grasp the seriousness of the
fiscal situation in Ontario.
"They proposed increasing
spending and taxing in the
budget, so much so, that the
deficit would increase under
their leadership from just
over $11 billion, to $12.5 bil-
lion," Thompson said. "It fur-
ther complicates the fact that
over the last decade, under
Liberal leadership, we have
doubled our debt to $289
billion.
M1114@KII,11,11, ElnY17Zg)
Q,10 nEEmmealil
17111q&I VomameHilomq
July 11, 12 & 13,2014
Keterson Park, Mitchell
$200/per team 3 Games Guaranteed
Entries due by July 1,2014
Please make cheques payable to Mitchell Hawks
Call or Text Jason Murray
at 519-276-1716
or email: jtmurray17@sympatico.ca
Wednesday, June 11, 2014 • Huron Expositor 7
"We can't keep on this path," she
added.
This is why Thompson, who resides
in Teeswater on a farm with her hus-
band, and who is a proud parent to
three step -children, is continuing to
stand beside PC leader Tim Hudak, his
caucus and the team of candidates in
this years June 12 Provincial election.
"Spending and taxing has gotten out
of control and the government of the
day has turned an absolute blind eye
and has demonstrated no understand-
ing of what it takes to generate jobs and
a climate of confidence and investment
in Ontario," Thompson explained. "That
is what we need to get Ontario working
better."
Thompson is concerned because ser-
vicing the provincial debt would be the
third largest ministry in Ontario- it
would be the third largest expense after
health care and education.
In two -and -a -half years, Thompson
said what she's been hearing from
stakeholders and door-to-door is there
is an absolute disgust and frustration
that the dollars that should be going to
front line health care services, are get-
ting lost in middle bureaucracy.
"(As government), we would take a
hard look and make the decisions that
have to be made in order to free up
those dollars... to flow through to our
local hospitals, to our doctors, to our
nurses," she said.
Moreover, Thompson ridding the
Liberal's of leadership would allow the
PCs to increase focus and efforts on
areas that have been disregarded.
She alluded to a 12 -year-old girl from
Beeton, Ontario with a rare disease who
has been pleading with Liberal Govern-
ment to help lower the price for a life-
saving drug she relies on.
"It broke my heart that the Ministry of
Health ended up being a no show at a
meeting that was designed to help little
Madi Vanstone and the need for spe-
cific drugs to manage Cystic Fibrosis,"
Thompson recalled. "How can a minis-
ter blow off such an eloquent advocate
that is doing her best of behalf of all CF
patients? It was... unacceptable, but
then again, that just goes to show the
type of characters we have running the
Liberal Government these days."
Another hard pill for Thompson to
swallow, is that student enrolment has
dropped a quarter of of a million all the
while spending has increased $8.5 bil-
lion under the Liberal Government.
"A tough piece of reality for everyone
to accept, is that student enrolment is
on the decline which is putting every-
body in tough situations. But, we have
to stand tall and we have to work with
the realities we have in front of us,"
Thompson said.
Another aspect that Thompson
believes is responsible for crippling
Ontario as well as Huron and Bruce is
"the layer upon layer of red tape on
small business'
"When I talk to small business own-
ers, manufacturers and farmers, they
just pull their hair out when they realize
the lost productivity hours because of
being chained to their desk to do paper
work," she said.
Currently, Thompson explained,
there are 386,000 rules and regulations
on small business that need to be
addressed.
[Hudak] is going to decrease the
bloated cabinet which has evolved in
the past decade from 27 ministers down
to 16," Thompson explaind. Those 16
ministers are going to be charged with
the responsibility of identifying regula-
tions and red tape that are redundant
and outdated."
Thompson also believes the cost of
living has been completely lost on the
Liberal Government and the third party
who have propped them up for so long.
In the past two -and -a -half years,
Thompson said the cost of living has
spiralled and referred to agencies that
typically are in place to help individuals
keep their heat on during the winter
months, and were running out of dol-
lars by the middle of February.
CONTINUED > PAGE 8
This summer
Seaforth Lions Pool
will be offering
AQUAFIT
Tuesday and Thursday Nights 8-9p.m.
Starting Tues. June 24
• Cost $45.00 for 8 classes
• Drop in $8.00 per session.
SeeLFREE TRIAL
Thurs. June 19, 8-9p.m.
if you would like to join in the
fun with Paula