Friday, May 20th, 2022
On Tuesday evening, the virtual town hall to hear the Etobicoke—Lakeshore candidates in the 2022 Ontario Election drew a large crowd. Over 250 attendees viewed part of the town hall, and over 160 were present for the entire 90 minute meeting. The town hall was moderated by the Reverend Brian McIntosh, and the candidates who were present were Farheen Alim representing the Ontario NDP Party, Lee Fairclough representing the Liberal Party of Ontario, and Thomas Yanuziello representing the Green Party of Ontario.
The incumbent, Christine Hogarth of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, declined to attend. As the incumbent, Ms Hogarth was contacted before the other candidates and given a choice of dates. Receiving no firm response within a 10-day period, the candidates from the other parties were then contacted and responded quickly to the affirmative.
The moderator, Brian McIntosh, stated “This town hall served the organizers’ purposes in not only urging citizens to participate in the democratic process by voting, but informing them on some key social and ecological challenges, including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, poverty reduction, affordable housing, long term care, and the greening of the economy, that must be overcome if we in Ontario are to build a viable and sustainable future.”
The Ontario NDP Party candidate, Farheen Alim, stated “Discussing the Ontario NDP’s plan to defeat Doug Ford and tackle the climate crisis with my neighbours in Etobicoke–Lakeshore last evening was an honour. I want to thank ECULINKS Etobicoke, Etobicoke Climate Action, and everyone who made last evening’s event possible. The people of Etobicoke–Lakeshore care about our environment and each other — and last evening highlighted how we value community in the questions my neighbours asked.”
The Green Party of Ontario candidate, Thomas Yanuziello, stated “A great first experience for me; participating in a live democratic town hall. I was disappointed by the absence of our incumbent, but was happy to prove to Etobicoke residents that the vague, half-measures of my opponents are no match for the comprehensive Green Plan.”
The Liberal Party Of Ontario candidate, Lee Fairclough, stated “Thank you to the organizers of this important opportunity in the democratic process for candidates to discuss topics so relevant to the residents of Etobicoke Lakeshore related to a sustainable future – the environment, biodiversity, poverty and affordability, housing, health care, transit and so much more. I would certainly commit to action in these areas given the opportunity to serve as your MPP. It was an evening of dialogue and I appreciated that so many in the community took time to join us.”
The video of the event is available below