Provincial Election 2022: Beaches-East York candidate Kate Dupuis, NDP, answers our questions

Kate Dupuis, NDP candidate for Beaches-East York, answers three questions from Beach Metro Community News regarding the provincial election on June 2.

(EDITOR’S NOTE:  Candidates were instructed to keep their answers to approximately 200 words, and some of the responses have been edited to keep them as close as possible to the agreed word count.)

QUESTION 1: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and why you are running in this election?

My name is Kate Dupuis, and I have been a proud member of the Beaches–East York community for 13 years. I am a clinical neuropsychologist, a college professor, and a full-time working mum of two beautiful children.

I decided to run for the NDP in this election because I know that Ontarians deserve better than what we have gotten over the last 20 years, first with the Wynne-Del Duca Liberals and then with the Doug Ford Conservatives.

Doug Ford has been a disaster, and Steven Del Duca sure isn’t the answer. We know this. We’ve all lived through it. Both Conservatives and Liberals have made big cuts and made so many bad choices in our province.

I’m running as your New Democrat candidate because I know we can fix what matters to us most. We can fix our healthcare system, we can provide proper care for our seniors, we can give our kids the world-class public education they deserve, and we can tackle the high cost of living. Our strong NDP team here in Beaches-East York is ready to lead and will work hard to fix what matters to our community.

QUESTION 2: What do you think is the issue in your riding that you can have the most impact on if you are elected MPP?

For too many families in Ontario, it is getting harder and harder to pay the bills and make ends meet. Over the last four years, the cost of buying a home in Ontario has doubled, rent has gone up by $200 a month, and prices keep climbing at the grocery store. The cost of housing is skyrocketing and too many of us are being forced out of the neighbourhoods we love.

If elected, my priority will be making life more affordable for us all. We have a plan to control out-of-control rent, create homes you can afford, and crack down on speculation. We will create cheaper auto insurance, we will help you pay for mental health care with your OHIP card not your credit card, and we will speed up the implementation of $10-a-day daycare.

I am proud of our plan to make groceries more affordable through the creation of a provincial food strategy that puts healthy, locally sourced food onto our tables.

Finally, our plan will protect consumers by regulating gas to stop gouging at the pumps and ban predatory payday loans. A more affordable Ontario is possible.

QUESTION 3: Given the concerns raised by a number of East Toronto residents, do you think changes need to be made to the way the provincial transit agency Metrolinx is run and if so, what are those changes?

I believe that everyone in Ontario deserves access to affordable, reliable transit that gets you where you need to go safely. Years of Liberal and Conservative cuts to public transit and service, fare hikes, long construction delays, and privatization have meant transit isn’t there when Ontarians need it.

An Ontario NDP government has a plan to deliver faster, more reliable, more affordable, and easier commutes both within and between cities.

If elected, we will make Metrolinx transparent and accountable to the public: We will ensure that Metrolinx proactively shares its progress and decision-making, including contracts, financing, and consultant studies. Board meetings should be made open to the public, deputations should be permitted, and the public and experts should be meaningfully and regularly engaged at all stages of key decisions.

We will commit to increase municipal participation on Metrolinx boards: Give local municipal officials, transit operators, and planners seats on Metrolinx’s board, and ban consultants from executive roles. We will make board meetings open to the public, and ensure Metrolinx is transparent.

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