Bonnie North will once again represent the Green Party in Barrie-Innisfil in the 2022 provincial election June 2.
North told BarrieToday her “outrage” over the current provincial government’s policies helped her “muster enough strength to stay politically involved,” despite being exhausted by the pandemic.
“Despite proudly representing both the provincial and federal Greens, through four elections since 2014, and growing the Green vote in Barrie-Innisfil, I still considered hanging up my political gear and sitting this election out," North conceded.
"I felt exhausted, But then COVID hit and people started dying, particularly thousands in long-term care facilities.”
North has lots of experience in speaking with her community and says the top issue for 2022 will be affordability.
“Compounded by inflation, housing costs are skyrocketing, often pushing people into unsustainable living arrangements,” said North. “All of us struggle to afford housing, gas, heat, lights, food, childcare and more, but this is especially hard for minimum wage earners, facing disproportionately lower wages against higher expenses.”
When asked about the toxic environment surrounding politics nowadays, North said it is common, especially when dealing with people passionate enough to get involved.
“Anyone passionate enough to get into politics might sometimes let frustration over harmful policies get the best of them. I regret that I’ve occasionally lashed out as a result of such stress,” said North. “The best we can do is acknowledge our mistakes, accept feedback, and hold ourselves accountable to continuously improve, which I’ve done and will always strive to do.”
North said she’d like to see some electoral reform to change the modern political system that has been in place since the beginning of Confederation.
“It was never designed for our modern multi-party reality,” said North. “In 2018, the Ford ‘majority’ government was elected with only 40 percent of total votes, leaving a 60 percent majority of Ontarians whose votes didn’t count.”
With the health of Lake Simcoe a major story every year and particularly around an election, North said that phosphorus pollution in Lake Simcoe threatens the area’s tourism, farming and fisheries.
“Ontario’s 2009 Lake Simcoe Protection Plan aimed to drastically reduce phosphorus levels. Still, not only is Ontario failing to achieve this goal, but since 2009 phosphorus pollution in the lake rose by 30 percent,” said North.
“Fortunately, Greens will address this and accomplish the goals of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan by 2026. Moreover, we’ll protect 25 percent of Ontario land and water by 2025, and 30 percent by 2030, including fragile ecosystems like Lake Simcoe.”
