Seaway News reached out to the candidates running in this week’s Provincial election.
We asked them what their riding means to them.
Here are their answers.
**Candidates are listed in alphabetical order**
KIRSTEN GARDNER
Candidate for
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry
Liberal Party
This riding is the place I have called home for almost 50 years. My roots run deep throughout this amazing riding, as it is made up of the people that have shaped who I am as a person and still do. I have chosen to stay here, and this is where I wanted my children to grow up. I have made lifelong friendships as a former student at the schools in this riding, for me that means Rothwell Osnabruck, Longue Sault Public and Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational school. The landscapes may have changed in the past 50 years, but the people have not. I can run into people I haven’t seen in decades, and it seems like we spoke yesterday.
My very first summer job at 16, was as a tourism councillor with Cornwall & Seaway Valley tourism to promote and highlight all the great spots to visit in our area. Early on I was introduced to what the possibilities were in the entire riding. Later in my career, I’ve promoted the environment through education, worked on large-scale heritage projects, worked with vulnerable people and managed provincial assets, all with-in our riding.
The communities that make up our riding have faced many challenges throughout the years and every time seem to come out stronger. Through the good times and the bad, the resiliency of the people in our community, never surprises me. Watching regrowth in areas of our riding that have taken a hard hit, has been inspiring. Watching as new ideas and concepts come to life has been exciting.
We have thousands of people in this riding, but I swear when I meet someone new, I can always make a connection to someone we both know. And that is the magic of our Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry riding, to me it has always felt like one big neighbourhood and that is why I chose to run to be your Member of Provincial Parliament. The next four years may have its challenges, and I am hoping that I will be sitting at the table with you to figure them out.
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JACQUELINE MILNER
Candidate for
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry
Green Party of Ontario / Parti Vert de l’Ontario
What my riding means to me.
My husband and I have lived and enjoyed life in this riding for 20+ years.
We have made many wonderful connections and look forward to living, working, and playing here for many years to come.
We understand the importance of supporting local business, local food, local environments, and local organizations and are happy to do so. If we want easy access to local wares in our communities, we must support those local suppliers with our dollars.
I innately understand that we must move forward with solutions to the various challenges we face, (housing, healthcare, supporting our local farmers and local food community, climate change, keeping our rural communities alive and well) with care and respect for our foundational home, our planet. Our municipalities were tasked by the Province to adopt and maintain policies to protect and enhance the tree canopy and natural vegetation in our boundaries. The PROTECTION of these vital habitats is glaringly missing from policies that I have read. According to the South Nation Conservation Authority we must have a *MINIMUM* of 30% cover to maintain biodiversity. According to 2014 figures we were below that then.
We are expecting to update numbers to be shared later this year. No doubt those will be lower. This is what led me to the Green Party of Ontario and to put my candidature forward for this election, my concern for my riding, my community, my extended family, (which encompasses every life, habitat, and element that resides within these boundaries) and its future.
It is important to me, to many in my riding, and for our generations to come; it is essential for our water health, soil health, air health, and the wildlife that exist on this planet with us, that *we take decisive action now*, so that we can protect what coverage we have left, and increase coverage while meeting the challenges ahead, particularly severe weather events. Provincial policy can assist us to get there quicker. I am committed to work across party lines at Queen’s Park with my colleague Mike Schreiner, to sustain our communities, with the supports needed to address our human needs at the moment…. with care for our earth.
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NOLAN QUINN
Candidate for
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry
Ontario PC Party
