The New Democratic Party of Ontario is making affordability the priority of its election platform presented Monday, about a week before the likely call of the provincial election. Andrea Horwath’s party is counting in particular on housing assistance and the reduction of the price of gasoline, in addition to an ambitious reform of the health system, to achieve this.
New Democrats are proposing, among other things, to end exclusion zoning across the province, a system that means that in some Ontario cities, including Toronto, nearly a third of the territory is reserved for single-family homes. The NDP, which had already presented part of its housing platform last February, wants to encourage the construction of duplexes, triplexes and semi-detached houses.
Fuel prices have ‘skyrocketed’ since Doug Ford took over as provincial leader in 2018, Horwath clan says essence if he is brought to power. Last April, the Progressive Conservative government of Rob Ford passed a bill that will raise the fuel tax from 14.3 cents to 9.0 cents per liter from 1er July, nearly a month after Ontario voters cast their vote.
On health, New Democrats plan to reduce the cost of living for Ontarians by integrating mental health care into the provincial health insurance program; their access would thus become universal and their financing public.
Andrea Horwath’s party also promises to introduce a drug insurance system, a proposal it already made in the last election. While the Liberal Party of Canada has pledged to create a similar pan-Canadian plan under its deal with the federal NDP, the provincial NDP says Ontarians “can’t afford to wait”. The party also promises to be the “leader” of the dental care program, which is also to see the light of day thanks to this same agreement.
New Democrats pledged in 2018 to implement a $12-a-day child care system if elected. In March 2022, however, Doug Ford reached an agreement with the federal government to offer Ontarians daycare services at $10 a day within three years; the NDP therefore intends to explore “various modalities” to accelerate its implementation.
A Horwath government would also immediately raise the wages of Registered Early Childhood Educators to $25 an hour. Under the agreement signed between Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau, their salary has increased to $18 an hour and will increase by a dollar each year to reach $25 in seven years. “These workers deserve better wages,” said the Ontario Premier when announcing the pact.
Promises to Francophones, but few details
The NDP has a strong presence in northern Ontario, where 20% of the province’s Francophones live. The party dedicates part of its platform to the community, but provides few details on its commitments
The Horwath clan is proposing, among other things, to set up a task force on the shortage of teachers in French-language schools, although a similar committee has already delivered a detailed report on the issue in 2021. The New Democrats do not specify what would distinguish this new initiative.
The party would also increase the number of community health centers and long-term care homes by and for Francophones. Access to care in French is difficult for many Franco-Ontarian seniors, and many of them have to uproot themselves to obtain end-of-life care in their language.
The NDP also reiterates that its government will reinstate the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner, which was dissolved by the Progressive Conservative government during this mandate. “We will give it the power to oversee the collection of data on services provided in French,” the NDP platform also read.
The party also declares, without too many details, that it will invest to guarantee a University of Sudbury by and for Francophones.
The stand-alone university is trying to get funding from the province to restart its operations, which ended in 2021 due to the restructuring of Laurentian University. Several members of the Francophone community in Northern Ontario hope in particular to see all of Laurentian’s French programs transferred to the University of Sudbury, which Andrea Horwath promised last year – her platform does not, however. mention.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.