NDP releases northern Ontario election platform in Sudbury

The Liberal party won't show up for Northern Ontario, said Timmins-James Bay NDP candidate Charlie Angus.

Angus and three of his northeastern Ontario colleagues unveiled their party's northern Ontario platform at a press conference in Sudbury on Wednesday.

"Why did Justin Trudeau call an election while northern Ontario families and families across Canada are trying to deal with the fourth wave?" Angus asked.

NDP Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing candidate Carol Hughes, Sudbury candidate Nadia Verrelli and Nickel Belt candidate Andréane Chénier also addressed members of the media Wednesday to unveil their plan for northern Ontario.

Hughes also questioned the need for a federal election, which she said is estimated to cost $610 million, which is $100-million more than the tally for the 2019 election.

NDP says they will fight for the north

A theme during the press conference was that Liberals and Conservatives will not fight for northern Ontario.

Angus cited the financial crisis at Sudbury's Laurentian University, which filed for creditor protection in February 2020, as an example of the Liberals not standing up for northern Ontario. He said it was the NDP, and not the Liberals, that asked for an emergency debate in Parliament on Laurentian's financial situation.

"When push comes to shove they will never stand up and they will never fight for northern Ontario," he said of the Liberals.

Chénier, the NDP's Nickel Belt candidate, said the Liberals recent announcement to provide more funding for French language post-secondary education outside of Quebec was too vague.

In the federal budget the Liberals promised $121.3 million over three years to support university studies in Canada's Francophone minority communities.

"But that's not for northern Ontario," Chénier said. "That's not even for Ontario. That's for every single post-secondary institution across Canada. I don't know what that pile will look like by the time it actually gets to us."

Issues specific to northern Ontario

When asked why the NDP had a platform specifically for northern Ontario, Angus responded there are issues that are specific to the region, such as the lack of transportation options and limited broadband Internet connectivity in certain regions.

"I think the really important question is why do the Liberals and Conservatives not have a platform for Northern Ontario?" he said. "We have really distinct issues in the north that are not covered when people talk about Ontario in general."

Angus added that a strong FedNor, the federal government's economic development organization for northern Ontario, is a critical issue.

In April, the federal government announced FedNor would become a standalone agency, and would receive a budget increase from $60 million to $100 million per year. 

Angus put forward a private member's bill pushing for FedNor to become a standalone agency in 2016, saying the change would mean more transparency and accountability.

The NDP also promised they would address the climate crisis, which they said affects the north disproportionately, work to reduce phone and Internet bills, address reconciliation and ensure more frontline health care workers are hired in the north.