By Joanne Rodgers, Bruce Peninsula Press
To date, the only candidate in the upcoming Ontario Elections to make it to Northern Bruce Peninsula is Joel Loughead, Ontario Green Party candidate for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.
On the evening of February 11, Loughead held a Meet and Greet at the Rotary Hall in Lion’s Head. Locals asked questions pertaining to Health Care, Housing and Long-term Care.
Loughead lives in Kimberley, ON with his wife and their young son and is a municipal councillor in the Municipality of Grey Highlands. He said he has seen first hand the budgetary pressures facing local municipalities due to the Province pushing some of their responsibilities to the municipalities. He describes this current situation as untenable.
Loughead states he was intrigued by the reasonable policies of the Ontario Green Party. A big attraction, he said, is that the Green Party is the only party that does not instruct their representatives how to vote. As such he said he will be your representative at Queen’s Park voting independently on how you want him to vote to represent your local interests. If elected, he is willing to work collaboratively with his constituents.
A party supporter expressed that clearly the Green Party is not a single issue party, and maybe the name is misleading, since the current platform addresses a broad range of issues and that Loughead was well-versed on a host of issues. An undecided voter that attended the meet & greet said that Loughead was articulate and his comments were reasonable and addressed the issues that are of concern.
Loughead says, while the Green Party remains a strong champion for the environment and supports a transition to renewable energy, they are a strong opposition to many of the current policies that cause serious damage to Ontario. He says we need to prioritize how we spend tax dollars and to use resources wisely.
