SIMCOE-GREY — They’re off and running.
And the two main candidates in Simcoe-Grey are anxious to hit the hustings — though for very different reasons.
As Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne was visiting Lieutenant-Governor David Onley to dissolve the Ontario Legislature Friday afternoon for a June 12 election, long-time Simcoe-Grey MPP and Progressive Conservative candidate Jim Wilson says it’s about time.
“It’s high time Ontarians had the opportunity to pass judgment (on the Liberal government,” said Wilson, who was first elected in 1990, and has won six successive campaigns — the last five with more than 50% of the vote. “I can’t wait to get to the polls.”
His main rival, Liberal Lorne Kenney, says he’s also looking forward to his inaugural campaign as a candidate.
Kenney says he anticipates the campaign will be on the budget tabled on Thursday, calling it a “progressive” document that represents “the right things for Ontario and Simcoe-Grey.
“They are the kind of expenditures necessary to provide the infrastructure for the economy to grow… (and) the compassionate expenditures needed (to increase wages) for early childhood educators and personal service workers,” said Kenney.
The two candidates — unsurprisingly — clash over what Thursday’s budget represents to the province and the riding. Kenney claimed the budget will provide the type of job creation necessary to grow long-term sustainable employment, while Wilson countered the Liberals have no plan for jobs at all.
Wilson said the Tories’ plan will cut bureaucratic red tape, and get 200,000 young people into trades by changing the rules for the ratio of apprentices to journeymen.
“I didn’t see a jobs plan in the budget, just a cobbling together of campaign promises,” said Wilson, who also referred to the Liberals’ proposal for an Ontario pension plan as ‘job-killing’.
“We’re going to focus like a laser on jobs,” said Wilson, who has already been canvassing door-to-door, and says local issues include funding for the General & Marine Hospital, and windfarms.
Kenney, however, said the budget continues programs such as the Rural Economic Development, which most recently provided funding to Goodall Rubber in Collingwood to assist in the creation of 22 positions.
“These are the jobs that are needed for the people of Simcoe-Grey,” said Kenney. “Government doesn’t create jobs; it creates the conditions for good jobs.”
He also countered Wilson’s claim on the provincial pension plan scheme, noting the effect on employment would be ‘negligible’.
And while Wilson acknowledged NDP leader Andrea Horwath’s announcement Friday that she wouldn’t support the budget, which appeared to trigger Wynne’s visit to the Lieutenant-Governor — “good for Andrea not propping up this corrupt government,” said Wilson — Kenney said the NDP leader was “turning her back on the progressive measures” in the budget.
“It’s a very progressive, solid, responsible budget for the province,” said Kenney.
Green Party candidate Jesseca Dudun stated in an email to QMI that she was "thrilled to enter into an election and support Andrea Horwath for taking a stand against the unrealistic budget the Liberals delivered.
"It's time for a government who is transparent and accountable for their actions," wrote Dudun. "The Green Party of Ontario delivered realistic budget recommendations that prioritized creating jobs, securing our children's future, and protecting our food, water, and natural resources."
The NDP candidate is expected to be David Matthews, who ran in the 2011 provincial election, capturing 14.5% of the vote in the riding.
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