Elizabeth is a former Deputy Premier of Ontario who was first elected in 1990. As Minister of Labour, Health, Environment and Education, she managed some of the toughest files at Queen's Park. She has been a tireless advocate for Kitchener-Waterloo, delivering the Cancer Centre to Grand River Hospital, the Cardiac Centre to St.Mary's Hospital and the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park.
As Minister of Heath she introduced family health teams, free flu vaccines and 20,000 new long-term care beds. As Minister of the Environment, she directed the closure of the first coal plant in Ontario, Lakeview. As Education Critic, Elizabeth has fought hard to keep our schools safe by successfully passing legislation to raise awareness and eliminate bullying.
Active in our community, Elizabeth has been recognized as Kitchener-Waterloo's Woman of the Year. The Ontario Public School Boards' Association has recognized her exceptional contribution to education. The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario named her an Honorary Nurse for her strong support of nursing. In 2005, she received the Smogbuster Award from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance.
She is a former secondary school teacher. Elizabeth lives in Waterloo with her husband Cam. They have two children, Scott and Sarah.
Why should Ontarians vote for you?
I have always been an accessible MPP with a proven track record of getting things done in a spirit of collaboration to help our province be innovative and entrepreneurial and ensure that quality health and education services are provided.
I helped deliver the health services to our community that had been lacking for years such as the Cardiac Centre and Cancer Centre. I was instrumental in bringing the UofW Research and Technology Park to our community. I have been a strong advocate for Go Trains, the new Waterloo library and YMCA, the School of Pharmacy, the Schlegel Research Institute for Aging, the Perimeter Institute and more long-term care beds, doctors and nurses.
However, there is more to do. We must create an environment whereby the private sector can create new jobs that will enable us to fund services such as health and education and build a skilled and innovative workforce.
If you are elected as an MPP by your constituents, what will your top two priorities be?
Economic growth that supports job creation and improved access to health services are my two top priorities. We have a plan for economic growth and job creation that includes promoting a stable environment that lowers taxes and removes the HST from home heating and hydro and allows businesses a choice as to whether or not to use smart meter energy pricing. We will reduce regulations and red tape by 30% as well as introduce a Small Business Bill of Rights. To develop a highly skilled and innovative workforce we will: Create 60,000 new post-secondary spaces; and, Create 200,000 new apprenticeships spaces. We will also eliminate the deficit and reduce the cost of government. These steps will support economic growth and job creation. To improve access to health services, we will: Invest an additional $6.1 billion into healthcare;
Build 5000 new long-term care beds and renovate 35,000 existing beds;
Double the caregiver tax credit; Reduce emergency wait times and establish wait time guarantees; and, Increase investments in home care and give families more control over these services. These steps will support improved access to quality health services.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Ontarians?
The biggest challenge is the lack of economic growth since this has resulted in high unemployment, especially for our youth. Unemployment in Ontario has surpassed the national average for 56 consecutive months. Furthermore, our province's debt and deficit are high. The Liberal government has increased spending by 84% and doubled the debt in eight years. Dalton McGuinty has accumulated more debt after two terms than the 23 premiers before him did in 136 years. Ontario has become a have-not province which now receives welfare payments from the federal government.
This huge debt means that we are paying $10.3 billion per year in interest. This is more than we pay for our entire post-secondary education system.
For Ontario to become the economic engine of Canada again we must create an environment that enables the private sector to grow and create new jobs.
