Former Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop Offers His Reasons For Seeking Ontario NDP nomination in Niagara Falls Riding

Niagara At Large is posting, for our readers’ information, Wayne Redekop’s verbatim remarks accompanying his May 18 announcement that he is seeking the nomination to run as the NDP candidate in  the Niagara Falls riding in this October’s provincial elections. If he wins the nomination this June, he will be running against Liberal incumbent Kim Craitor and Conservative candidate George Lepp.

WAYNE REDEKOP SEEKS               
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOMINATION

I wish to announce my intention to seek the nomination as the candidate of the New Democratic Party for the Fort Erie-Niagara Falls-Niagara on the Lake riding in the forthcoming provincial election.

Wayne Redekop seeks NDP nomination in Niagara Falls Riding.

This will be no ordinary provincial election.  The results will determine how our government will respond to the challenges that we face as a province, as communities and as families and individuals.  Will the agenda of the next provincial government include measures that make life affordable for families and individuals, that invest in health care and education, that protect our environment and that ensure that today’s debt does not burden future generations?
This election will offer voters clear choices:  continue down the current road, return to former divisive policies or set a new direction that focuses on people, investing in the future and living within our means.  Timely access to health and hospital care, full-time jobs that pay a living wage, support for small businesses, investments in education and healthy lifestyles,  protection of the environment, economic prosperity, sound transportation and energy policies, and efficiency and accountability are what the people of Ontario should expect from their government.  These are the things that I believe in and the things that I stand for.

I have been blessed throughout my life:
·    With parents and grandparents who taught me the value of honesty, compassion, tolerance, hard work and education;
·    With a wealth of opportunities to pursue my dreams, whether as a student, an athlete, a lawyer, a volunteer or as an elected representative;
·    With a wife and daughters who have taught me the importance of family and supporting one another;
·    With a supportive family, faithful friends, excellent health and the good fortune to have been born in the greatest country in the world.

Now, I seek the opportunity to serve the people of Fort Erie, Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake in our provincial legislature.
As a grandchild of immigrants, I understand the challenges faced by new-comers to our province and the pride, determination, diligence and optimism that they bring with them.  As a child of working class parents, I understand the importance of safe working conditions, wages that will support a family, setting aside earnings for retirement, owning a home and living within your means.

As a parent, I understand the challenges and the joys of raising children.  Cathy and I know the importance to families of good schools, medical providers, recreational programs and facilities and opportunities for growth and success.

As a lawyer and a small business owner, I understand how to develop and implement a strategy to accomplish an objective, what is required to manage a workplace, the importance of employees and responding to the needs and concerns of individuals who are often in crisis.

As a volunteer, I appreciate the contributions countless individuals make to improve life in our communities.

Having been the mayor of Fort Erie, I understand the importance of partnerships, listening to residents, efficient and open government and how to manage multi-million dollar budgets, encourage economic development while protecting our natural heritage and leading initiatives to benefit the community.

There is something wrong in Ontario:
·    when individuals do not have access to hospital services at the time they need them;
·    when young people have to choose between foregoing a post-secondary education or amassing significant debt to pursue that education;
·    when families struggle to pay their electricity bills;
·    when every good and service in this province, no matter how essential to daily living, is taxed;
·    when the government tries to avoid its responsibility for health policy by creating unelected, unaccountable agencies;
·    when the government consults the public after it has made decisions, if at all.

We should be able to do better.  I believe that we can do better.

We need to get back to basics with health and hospital care.  There should be fewer administrators and more front line health providers.  We need to investigate the Niagara Health System to determine why it has been unable to do its job for the past decade and make the changes that will result in the people of Niagara receiving the health care that they deserve.  We should scrap the L.H.I.N.’s.  First and foremost, we need to reopen the Emergency Department at Douglas Memorial – because it makes sense to do so, because it will lessen the burden on the Greater Niagara General and because it is the right thing to do.  We have heard far too many stories from and about individuals who have been ill-served by our health system to wait for further evidence before taking action.

We need to allocate the appropriate resources to assist the elderly to remain in their own homes; to encourage everyone, young and old, to live healthy lifestyles; and to ensure that health care providers are available to meet the needs of our communities.

We need to roll back the H.S.T.  It makes no sense to tax essential goods and services, no matter what sleight of hand you use to pretend that the exercise does not hurt families.  It is a regressive tax and was designed to provide the necessary revenues to allow the government to provide further tax reductions to corporations, the greatest recipients of which are the largest and wealthiest corporations in this province.  Our priority should be families.

We need to implement policies that will assist small businesses.  They are the engines of our economy because they provide the greatest opportunities for job creation.  We need to provide incentives to small businesses to create employment and look for ways to provide relief from the high Canadian dollar, tight credit and endless regulations.

We need to sort out the electricity mess that has been created by the current provincial government.  There has to be a strategy that will effectively end coal-fired generation, focus on renewable sources of generation, establish partnerships with Ontario businesses and provide electricity to Ontarians at a price that they can afford.  How can we encourage manufacturers to come to or stay in Ontario if we cannot compete with other jurisdictions on energy costs?

We need to invest in the education of our population, at all levels and for all ages.  Learning should never cease.  Knowledge is the greatest advantage that Ontario can gain over its competitors.  We need to provide our teachers with the very best tools to allow them to do their job.  We need to make sure that those with the ability can pursue a post-secondary education, without worrying about the cost.  We need to make sure that our schools, colleges and universities have the resources to meet the challenges of the 21st century.  We need to encourage everyone to continuously learn, because learning should be life long.

We need to protect our natural heritage, while at the same time encouraging growth and development.  They are not mutually exclusive.  We need to provide incentives to property owners with environmentally or ecologically important lands, agricultural lands and valuable built- heritage to protect and maintain those assets for future generations.

We need to insist that government be responsive, efficient and transparent.  We should insist on value for the tax dollars that we send to Toronto.  We should insist that provincial ministries have co-ordinated policies, so that ministry mandates are not contradictory or confusing.  There should be no secrets.  It is our government and it should be accountable to us.

I am not seeking the nomination of the New Democratic Party so that we can all say on October 7th that the party put in a good showing in the election.  I intend to win .

I believe that I will be an effective representative.  However, I cannot succeed without your help.   If we focus on the needs of the people of this riding, if we invest in our future and if we strive to live within our means, I know that we will succeed.  Please join me.

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