Burlington’s Liberal Party of Ontario candidate Andrea Grebenc could see the election coming, and said it was called for the wrong reasons.
Grebenc, an IT consultant who works with several organizations in the U.S., says explaining the situation on this side of the border is leaving her clients dumbfounded.
“I’ve told them there’s no other premiers across the country that feel it’s important to go to the polls at this time,” Grebenc said. “They tell me that they think it’s pretty opportunist of Doug Ford, and I say I agree with them.”
The Liberals have to make up ground following the last election in 2022, which saw the NDP as official opposition since 2018.
Grebenc said in Burlington and at Queen’s Park, the NDP are not the concern.
“I think the NDP, despite their position, has been quite ineffective in the house and our real fight is with Doug Ford,” she said. “In Burlington, the NDP are present but we’re concerned that the local MPP Natalie Pierre is not accessible.”
Grebenc added when she knocks on doors, people aren’t aware of who the MPP is in Burlington, and those who have gone to her with issues have had a hard time tracking her down.
Accessibility is key for Grebenc, a former Halton District School Board trustee and chair during COVID; it was critical for her to be available.
“There are no issues that people feel more passionate about than ones that deal with their children,” she said. “I dealt with a lot of very impassioned people during COVID, and there was a lot going on beyond our community. We had people coming to the board who were not even residents, protesting things around masking, but I always made myself available.”
Residents also talk about additional issues with healthcare and needless spending, such as the spa at Ontario Place, or the Ontario Science Centre.
Grebenc said the issues that forced the closure of the Science Centre exist in several schools around the province, yet they remain open – and fixable.
“Why are we not closing the schools if they have the same problem?” she said. “Reports from the architecture firm that offered to fix it for free said it would have been easy to block off and keep a safe area so people could still use the facility. I wonder about ulterior motives here.”
Grebenc said the money spent on these items could have gone towards healthcare, and ensuring each resident in Ontario has access to a family doctor.
“There are 8,000 people in Burlington without a family doctor,” Grebenc said. “And there is the threat of de-rostering if you visit a walk-in clinic or urgent care. The Ontario Liberals will guarantee everyone in Ontario will have a family doctor within four years, and we’re going to stop the practice of punishing patients for going to a clinic.”
Grebenc added there are a lot of doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals who could be working instead of spending $8 billion on the 413 highway, or for the $650 million garage at Ontario Place.
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