The leaders of Ontario’s three major political party leaders – Liberal Dalton McGuinty, Progressive Conservative Tim Hudak, and NDP Andrea Horwath – will go head-to-head in a televised debate on Tuesday September 27, just days before the Thursday October 6 provincial election.
Ontario voters can submit questions for use during the televised debate. To submit your questions, please email question@electiondebate2011.ca before Tuesday September 20.
Campaign issues that you could consider, include –
THE GREAT LAKES: You may want to ask about the proposed shipments of nuclear waste on the Great Lakes. The Council of Canadians has collected more than 100,000 signatures from around the world on a petition asking the Ontario government not to approve a ministry of transportation permit needed by Bruce Power to proceed with these shipments. More on that at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=6870.
THE MELANCTHON QUARRY: The issue of a mega-quarry that would pollute groundwater and endanger five major rivers is a significant provincial issue. For more on that in the riding of Dufferin-Caledon – where the quarry would be located – please go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10411.
CETA: The Council of Canadians has called on the provincial government not to make offers related to the Canada-European Union Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement during the provincial election. Trade campaigner Stuart Trew’s Toronto Star op-ed on this can be read at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10337.
HEALTH CARE: On September 13, the Council of Canadians participated in a large health care rally in Toronto calling on all party leaders to commit to public health care. The next premier of Ontario will be critical in the upcoming Canada Health Accord negotiations. More on the rally at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10464. For five questions – developed by health care campaigner Adrienne Silnicki – that you could ask candidates during the election, please see www.canadians.org/healthcare.
SCHEDULE 2: A federal regulation allows mining companies to dump their toxic tailings into freshwater lakes. But a provincial government can disallow this. An application by Marathon PGM threatens Marathon-area waterways and should be stopped. More on this at http://canadians.org/water/issues/TIAs/marathon.html.
NUCLEAR PLANTS: Maude Barlow, along with our allies, recently wrote in the Toronto Star, “As the debate over our energy future heats up in advance of the provincial election, more than 150 organizations have come together to send a message to whoever forms the next government: We want a green energy future and that means cancelling plans to build new nuclear reactors at the Darlington station.” For more on this, please go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10334.
MORE ISSUES: There are also issues related to inter-provincial trade, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=1659; the Green Energy Act, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9301; mining in northern Ontario, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9378; water clean-up technologies, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=6287; pharmaceutical patents under CETA, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9502; fracking, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=4327; a NAFTA Chapter 11 challenge launched today, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10532; and more.
The televised debate on September 27 is just one occasion. Be sure to go to all-candidates debates, write letters to the editor, call in to radio programs, and ask candidates these questions at your front door too.
