CityVote Day 17: McGuinty misses debate on northern issues
Posted September 23, 2011 9:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty missed a debate in Thunder Bay Friday on issues facing voters in northern Ontario.
Instead, McGuinty campaigned in Toronto. He insists he’s not snubbing northern Ontarians and said he couldn’t make the debate due to scheduling conflicts.
While in Toronto, he spoke about sexual education in Ontario schools, and said that if re-elected, he would boost mental health services to young people.
In Thunder Bay, Conservative leader Tim Hudak said McGuinty has been absent from the area for “years.” He and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath spoke about hydro rates during the debate, with Hudak saying he would eliminate the HST on hydro bills, and would allow people to opt out of smart metres. Horwath blamed the Tories and the Liberals for driving up hydro rates and said an NDP government would reunite the old Ontario Hydro.
Howath also said she would show respect for northern issues, like the region’s resource wealth and decision making powers.
McGuinty said Friday he disagrees with a Toronto District School Board report that says parents should not be notified when kids are learning about sexual orientation and homophobia. McGuinty also says it’s wrong for the Toronto school board to say parents can’t take kids out of classes for religious reasons when such issues are to be discussed.
Hudak also disagreed with the TDSB report, but said McGuinty was the reason the board was forced to come up with the policy in the first place.
Hudak has been complaining about McGuinty wanting to teach adult concepts to young children. Last year, the Liberals backed off the proposed sex education curriculum for the province.
The curriculum guide, called Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism, concludes that treating sexual orientation or anti-homophobia differently from the other curriculum topics “could be construed as discriminatory practice,” as parents aren’t generally notified in advance of every study topic.
While Horwath may be riding high when it comes to her likeability factor among Ontarians — a recent poll shows voters would invite her to a backyard barbecue before her two rivals — one of her candidate’s remarks has sparked controversy.
Niagara Region candidate Anthony Marco wrote online that doctors, police and firefighters shouldn’t be considered heroes for just doing their jobs.
The Ontario Provincial Police Association called the comments insulting and the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association said it was shocked this kind of comment would come from a political candidate.
Horwath has ignored calls to drop him as a candidate, claiming it’s up to voters to decide his fate.
She’s also refusing to say who she’d support in the event of a minority government.
Ontarians head to the polls Oct. 6.
With files from The Canadian Press
