Belcher: Let’s prioritize education and health care in Kanata-Carleton

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The Citizen invited Ottawa candidates from the four major provincial parties to explain why you should vote for them. Those who met our deadlines and protocols are published online. Today: Kanata-Carleton NDP candidate Dave Belcher.

My name is Dave Belcher and I’m the candidate for the Ontario NDP in Kanata-Carleton. It would be a privilege to be able to represent the residents of Kanata-Carleton and help bring a change to Ontario that is desperately needed.

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I’m coming to this campaign from an education background. I am a teacher and educator in the community, teaching at West Carleton Secondary School in Dunrobin for 12 years. For the last five years, I have worked with the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers Federation supporting teachers, educators and students in Ottawa and helping advocate for a fully funded education system.

It is the deficiencies of the Ford government’s approach to education that have encouraged me to run in this election. Seven years of Doug Ford have left the education system in Ontario starved of funding and we’re seeing the damaging impact of this in our schools. Since 2018, education funding has fallen behind inflation to the tune of $1,500 per student in Ontario. Educators and students in Ottawa are feeling the effects of a lack of resources, staffing and infrastructure needed to provide a safe, supportive learning environment for our children.

The Ford government has never prioritized education and the result is a chronic under-resourcing and under-valuing of what should be a backbone of our society. Education is an investment, not an expense; education improves health and social outcomes, drives economic growth and builds healthy and safer communities. The Ontario NDP is committed to prioritizing our education system and supporting future generations of Ontarians the way that they deserve.

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This pattern of under-resourcing is consistent across the province. Is our health-care system stronger? It isn’t; we need more family doctors and better access to health care here in Kanata-Carleton. Has affordability in this province improved? It hasn’t; we need real investment to make living and raising families in Ontario more affordable. Is housing more accessible to Ontarians? It isn’t; we need to build affordable homes and protect renters so people can choose to live in the communities they want to. Is our transit system working for everyone? It isn’t; we need to build a better network, expand the LRT in Ottawa, and we need a government that will commit to doing that.

I’ve been knocking on doors in our community and consistently hear that life has gotten harder under Doug Ford. This government has a lot of priorities, but none of them is helping the people of Kanata-Carleton with their most significant needs. It’s time for a change and Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP are the best choice for bringing that change to Kanata-Carleton.

I hope that the residents of Kanata-Carleton see this need for change too. I’m asking for their support to elect an NDP government that will reinvest in public education and health care, address housing and affordability for the people of this province, and make the needs of the people of Ontario the priority once again.

Dave Belcher is the NDP candidate in Kanata-Carleton.

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