Article provided by the Marjorie Knight for Cambridge campaign
When I was first asked to consider running for office, I took some time to think about what was important to me, my family and the community around me. I thought about what I had to bring to the table, and the challenges we were facing as a community. I talked to friends, family members, colleagues, and mentors.
At this moment in time, I had just come out of a homeless shelter, I was working in a minimum wage job, and almost 75% of my pay went to rent. I had just gone back to school in the hope of doing better for myself, struggling to make ends meet. I was advocating with the $15 and Fairness campaign and had my first speaking engagement at the Social Planning Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries speaking on poverty and what it meant to be homeless at their poverty symposium.
I found that I had begun to become the voice of those struggling in the same way, but struggling in silos without support, and without the voice to express their experiences.
This answered the question of what I could bring to the table.
Indeed, the table was full of people who had no lived experience of the issues they were there to solve, no real understanding of the challenges, and choices faced by those who lived with low income or even middle income lives.
The question then became which party shared my values and views of community. The values that housing was a right, that people should be able to afford rent, AND food for themselves and their families. That if a person worked full time, they should be able to afford this. That children should not go to school hungry, and school should be a place of learning, a place of inclusion, representing the whole community. That children should be safe in schools and not have it crumbling down around their ears. That our public health system should work and be accessible for everyone. We should look after our most vulnerable populations and ensure that no one lives below the poverty line.
There is only one political party that looks at building an Ontario where everyone can thrive and build a good life, the Ontario NDP.
This year, 7 years later, things have gone further downhill.
We have seen homelessness grow in unprecedented numbers; in fact we are now generating homelessness by a rental market that demands increases that the general public cannot afford. Wages have not kept up with the increase in costs, so many are finding themselves homeless as a result. We have had closures of Emergency Rooms, a serious lack of family doctors, and hospital staffing. We have our elders dying in privately owned long term care facilities, due to lack of care.
After over two decades of Liberal/Conservative governments we are ready for some changes around Ontario, and the Ontario NDP has the plan to move us forward.
- Our Homes Ontario plan will double the supply of permanently affordable housing, by providing funding, low-cost financing and public land for nonprofit and co-op housing, the missing piece around our housing. We will legalize fourplexes, and increase density around transit to create strong, affordable, accessible connected communities.
- Our Cost of Living: A More Affordable Life plan will double assistance rates, will raise the minimum wage, and tie it to the cost of living, and make it easier to join a union. We will cap rent increases, provide real rent control to protect families from predatory rent hikes and renovictions. We will provide relief on heating bills and make homes more energy efficient. We will lower daily expenses and deliver on the $10/day child care.
- Education: Ensuring that our kids have the best education possible in a safe environment. Eliminate the school repair backlog, fund more staff in schools. Reverse the cuts and invest in our schools and our children’s futures
- Healthcare: A doctor when you need one, extending primary care access, and grow the workforce of healthcare workers. Invest in our public healthcare system.
Hope for Ontario is here! The Ontario NDP stands ready to move forward. New funding formulas, more investment where it counts, and a Member of Provincial Parliament that understand the issues our community is facing.
My name is Marjorie Knight and I am running to be the next Member of Provincial Parliament for Cambridge, and represent our community in Queen’s Park. Together we can restore hope and deliver results. Join the movement, it’s a new day for Ontario.
