Elections are all about making elected politicians accountable for their actions. There are a number of Conservative members of the Legislature seeking re-election, who are in a special position regarding the Ontarians with Disabilities Act issue in this election. These are MPPs who last October 29 voted in the Legislature in favour of an Opposition resolution which called for the Ontarians with Disabilities Act to be enacted which is strong, effective, meaningful and enforceable. The resolution adopted the 11 principles which the ODA Committee had formulated.
Listed at the end of this message are all the Tory candidates, who voted in favour of that resolution. But their Government then introduced Bill 83 which contradicted every ingredient of that resolution. Then, their Government called this election before passing the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, thereby breaking Mike Harris' 1995 election promise to us.
If you are in a riding where any of these candidates are running, today's election action tip is to encourage you to bring that candidate's record on this issue to the attention of voters in your riding. Make them accountable for their actions. Do they support the resolution they voted for, or do they support the do- nothing legislation their Government offered us? Do they agree with the resolution's call for strong legislation, or do they defend their Government's action in passing no legislation at all? How do they account for their Government's broken promise to us of an Ontarians with Disabilities Act in their first term?
Raise this issue at an all-candidate's debate. Write a letter to the editor of your nearest local newspaper to tell them about this record of the nearest candidate in this special group. Encourage a reporter to report on this. Phone a call-in program in your community to tell the listening audience agbout the candidate's record on this score.
Before we set out the list of candidates, here are three items of interest in our campaign for a barrier-free Ontario:
- We were delighted to learn today that our ODA Committee Web Site has won an award called the "Busy Educator's Award". Congratulations especially go to our wonderful Volunteer Web Manager, Barbara Anello of Anello Web Services in North Bay.
- Keep letting us know about barriers you encounter in the voting process.
- Thanks to Robert Fenton and the National Federation of the Blind Advocates For Equality, the Liberals and NDP have agreed to make their campaign literature available in Braille and other alternate formats. If you want this material from the Liberals, call (416) 961-3800 and ask for Nickie, or E mail moniquesmith@ontarioliberal.com
If you want this material in alternate format from the NDP, contact Rosemary Hnatiuk of the NDP at the following email address: rhnatiuk@on.ndp.ca
Please provide your name, address and phone number in the message. You can also reach Ms. Hnatiuk by phone at NDP campaign headquarters in Toronto.
The PC Party has not complied with Robert Fenton's request for their campaign materials in Braille, but claim that it is available on tape. However, when he called the Conservative Party, Robert Fenton could not get the matterials on tape. He has therefore filed a human rights complaint against Mike Harris and the PC Party as a result. If you want to be E mailed copies of the correspondence and a news article regarding that human rights complaint, feel free to E mail him at rfenton@mccarthy.ca
CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES WHO VOTED IN FAVOUR
OF THE OCT. 29, 1998 ODA RESOLUTIONArea Code 416
Etobicoke North - John Hastings
Scarborough Centre - Marilyn Mushinski
Scarborough Southwest - Dan Newman
Eglinton-Lawrence - John Parker
Area code 905
Brampton Centre - Joe Spina
Hamilton West - Lillian Ross
Niagara Centre - Frank Sheehan
Erie-Lincoln - Tim Hudak
Northumberland - Doug Galt
Oshawa - Jerry Ouellette
Wentworth-Burlington -Toni Skarica
Oak Ridges - Frank Klees
Area code 519
Dufferin Peel Wellington Gray - David Tilson
Guelph Wellington - Brenda Elliott
Kitchener Centre - Wayne Wettlaufer
London West - Bob Wood
Haldimand - Norfolk - Brant - Toby Barrett
Waterloo Wellington - Ted Arnott
Area code 613
Renfrew Pembroke - Leo Jordan
Prince Edward Hastings - Gary Fox
