Brothers, sisters & siblings,
Three Ontario ridings will go to the polls for by-elections on Thursday, September 3rd. The ridings and candidates are (listed alphabetically):
Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
· Jeff Beatie (Conservative)
· Wieslawa Derlatka (New Blue Party)
· Heino Doessing (Liberal)
· Pascale Marchand (Green Party)
· Monique Taylor (NDP)
Scarborough Southwest
· Mark Bekkering (Green Party)
· Ahsanhul Hafiz (Liberal)
· Michael Perdelwitz (Ind.)
· Chris Rees (New Blue Party)
· Fatima Shaban (NDP)
· Noor Tarun (Conservative)
York-Simcoe
· Naomi Davidson (Liberal)
· David Ghobrial (New Blue Party)
· Susan Lahey (Conservative)
· Matt Pearce (Green Party)
There is also a federal seat available in Beaches-East York. That election takes place Monday, August 31st. Listed alphabetically, the candidates are:
· Shannon Devine (NDP)
· Michel Lachance (People’s Party of Canada)
· Bruce Livesey (Green Party)
· Tanveer Shahnawaz (Liberal)
· Jim Sybros (Conservative
· Cameron Thomas (Canadian Future Party).
If you live in one of these ridings, research the candidates, their parties and platforms. Make the choice that is right for your family, but also consider their platforms as they relate to us, as workers in Ontario.
Looking ahead, municipal elections are set for Monday, October 26th. While there is much less focus on party affiliation in municipal politics, knowing the candidates is still important. Municipal leaders can have just as much, if not more, effect on our day-to-day lives than provincial and federal levels of government.
It is important to make informed decisions at all levels.
Please be active and vote in the upcoming elections.
In solidarity,
Matt Bazinet
Union in Politics Chair
