Parry Sound

Kitchen Table chat on Paid Sick Days with Andrea Horwath and NDP Labour critic Peggy Sattler

The Gravenhurst Fire Collage is a state of the art newly renovated facility. It provides jobs that workers can live on in our community. The road our province is going down is just another download to the Municipalities. Smaller municipalities will definitely feel the negative impacts most.

The first emergency debate held in Parliament this year was not about vaccines, the lockdowns or the rising death rates from COVID - it was over a pipeline that... everyone knew would never be built. And so we wasted a night in Parliament on a lot of defiant speeches to a President who wasn't listening. It is typical of the political disconnect in Canada in the face of massive international changes that are underway. The world is moving quickly to embrace renewables. Canada, particularly the west has enormous potential to be a world leader in this area. But it means moving away from a 20th century ideology. When oil giants are being downgraded to the level of junk bond status the writing is on the wall. We need the Feds and Provinces to take the lead in promoting this quickly emerging new economy. This will go a long way to mitigating the job impacts from the transition and ensure that no region is left behind. https://www.theguardian.com//rating-agency-sp-warns-13-oil

Sign the Petition to pass the 'Stay Home If You Are Sick Act'. NDP MPP Peggy Sattler’s ‘Stay Home If You Are Sick Act’ creates a made-in-Ontario framework for p...roviding paid sick leave to all Ontario workers, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Join me in signing the petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately pass the Act which provides workers with 10 permanent sick days (7 of which are paid) without the requirement for doctors’ notes, and an additional 14 paid sick days during an infectious disease emergency, so they can follow public health advice and keep our workplaces and our communities safe. See more

Canadians like to pride themselves on having a government that is progressive and responsive to their needs. But as long as 90 percent of Parliament votes against policies supported by 76 percent of Canadians, that can’t be the case. There are no shortcuts: if Canadians want a government that taxes the richwho have profited handsomely while many sufferto pay for the basic necessities all Canadians deserve, they must lend their vote to parties that will deliver. That will never happen under a Conservative or Liberal government, or with the Bloc holding a substantial amount of Quebec seats.

After I shared my thoughts on the appalling CBC News: Marketplace investigation video on the abuse and neglect that occurs in long term care homes, I had many p...eople reach out and share their heartbreaking stories. Amanda was one of them. She shared the story of her grandmother, who was a resident at Craiglee nursing home in Scarborough until her death. She recounts the horrific conditions her grandma was found in during her time at Craiglee. Amanda’s story is not isolated. Just yesterday, Bill 218 was passed. This is a law that indemnifies for-profit long-term care homes among other for liability for their negligence in the pandemic. The Ford government MPPs voted FOR Bill 218 and the NDP voted against it. Yesterday they made it very clear, they have put profit before the care of our seniors, and it’s simply a shame. The Minister of Long Term Care has a duty to act; because even though we have been raising alarm bells about this situation long before the pandemic, the first wave tragedies should have taught us a lesson.

Ford is putting people’s lives and health at risk under the completely false pretense that it helps businesses. While simultaneously refusing to give businesses real support.

Housing is a human right. Three years ago I made the very difficult decision to move myself and two daughters away from the only home they knew and loved. Awa...y from the father and husband we loved for our safety. Away from abuse that was inflicted by him. I was prepared to spend every penny I had to build a happy safe home for the girls. Three years later, we are facing homelessness. The cost for housing in Northern Ontario is unsustainable. As a single mother I find myself drowning in credit debt just to keep a roof over my daughter’s heads. Being a median income earner, holding down a fulltime career and two part-time jobs, I never ever thought, I’d be unable to afford basic housing in Sudbury Ontario. Thankfully for family we have just signed a new lease; unfortunately I will continue struggling to pay our monthly rent. Terri, #Sudbury constituent Thanks for sharing your story today. Ontario NDP's Housing platform will help address housing issues in the North to make sure that everyone can afford to keep a roof over their head. Read the article for more details on the plan!

This is sooo needed!

"Many successful rentiers are essentially gatekeepers to the resources we need to live a good life and participate in society housing, energy, water, broadban...d access. The fact that they are essential is both what makes them such a reliable source of profit, and what makes this profiteering so morally unacceptable. Accordingly, much new thinking on the left from energy democracy to universal basic services is really about democratising the means of subsistence, or perhaps the means of wellbeing. Arguably, these resources should be taken out of the market altogether, treated as basic universal rights rather than commodities. Democratic ownership should be less about socialising the rents these assets generate, and more about eliminating the potential for rent extraction altogether. Ultimately, it should be about reorienting our economy towards meeting human needs."

On #NationalAboriginalVeteransDay, I honour those who perished and also those who returned. You sacrificed your livelihoods, culture and lives to make Canada and the world a safer place. Our country is indebted to the sacrifices you made - and, I salute you.