TORONTO – Ontarians will head to the polls to vote in Ontario’s next premier on June 2nd. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath joined Brandon for a one-on-one conversation about what Ontario can expect from the NDP if they’re elected this June!
Things like the cost of living, the price of gas & insurance, and the healthcare system are top of mind for a lot of Ontario residents this election season. Horwath explained the NDP’s plan to address these issues, starting with addressing the increasing cost of living for Ontarians.
“We’re going to freeze taxes. There will be no increase in taxes for middle and low-income Ontarians. We’re going to ask those at the top, the big fish if you will, to pay a little bit more to help us make sure that everyone else can afford to live in Ontario,” Horwath explained.
“We have a housing plan that builds 1.5 million houses, but houses that are affordable, that are entry level, that are the starter homes, so that young people can get their foot in the door,” she added, explaining that the NDP would also bring back rent control if elected.
The New Democrats also have plans to make healthcare more affordable by covering more services under OHIP.
“Everything from dental care to making sure your prescription drugs and mental health care can be purchased with your OHIP card and not your credit card,” Horwath said.
Horwath also explained her party’s big plans for making driving cheaper.
“Our plan is to outlaw gouging at the pumps, so that we don’t have that gouging happening right before a long weekend,” she explained, adding that the NDP would also cap the retail and wholesale price of gasoline. They also have a plan to decrease the staggering cost of insurance in Ontario!
“We’ll immediately ban postal code discrimination, which we know has impacted the people of Brampton quite a bit. We’re looking at a 40% reduction in the price of auto insurance,” Horwath told Brandon, explaining that her government would dedicate a task force to investigating how to make insurance more affordable.
The NDP also has big promises for transit users! Horwath says that if elected, her party would cover 50% of the costs of transit operations, allowing municipalities to lower their fares without a financial burden.
“We need to get more people out of their cars and onto transit,” she explained.
Lots of people are wondering how an NDP government would address COVID protocols like masking and mandatory vaccination post-pandemic.
“When it comes to settings where people are vulnerable to the contracting of COVID-19 as well as the worst symptoms and real serious health outcomes, we need to make sure that we’re masking and vaxing,” she explained, adding that she supports continuous mandates in healthcare.
Brandon and Andrea discussed everything from the NDP’s plans to address student debt, to which of the other leaders she would grab a drink with & how she REALLY feels about Doug Ford on this episode of News You Can Use.
