People centred approach being taken by local Liberal candidate

August 26, 2021 · 0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

Putting people first is a top priority for federal Liberal Party candidate Lisa Post, who’s vying for the Dufferin–Caledon seat in the September 20 election.

Some key elements of her campaign and the Liberal Party’s platform that are designed to help Canadians include developing a strong action plan on climate change and looking at affordability with respect to housing, child care, and the cost of living for young families.

Post, who’s served as an Orangeville Town Councillor since 2018, said the road to recovery from COVID-19 is one of the most important issues heading into the election.

“People want to see us finish the pandemic and then move on from there, so we need to have a really good strategic plan as we come out of the pandemic and a plan to… recover the area that we’re in,” said Post.

She noted that in addition to developing a plan for the economy, a focus on recovery for the pandemic’s social impact is crucial as well.

“There’s a very big social component, a very big community component, our community was ripped wide open, and we need to be able to put that back together,” said Post.

“I’m confident in people’s humanity, I’m confident in the fact that people understand that they now have a duty to take care of one another, and the Liberal Party’s platform is completely around taking care of people and putting people first.”

Meanwhile, moving work forward that pertains to diversity, inclusion, and equity is another priority for Post, heading into the election.

“From the 2SLGBTQ community, all the way through to making sure that reconciliation is top of mind, continuing to move forward all of the Truth and Reconciliation commission’s calls to action,” she said.

“I think the Liberal Party really acknowledges that there is still a long way to go, but it’s moving forward, it’s forward action, and making sure that everybody’s moving forward together.”

While the Dufferin–Caledon riding has only ever elected a Conservative MP since its formation in 2004, Post said she’s optimistic that there’s room for change this time around.

“We’ve been pigeon-holed as being a conservative riding for such a long time and really, this riding is about people, and community is not partisan,” Post remarked. “As much as a lot of the people in this area have historically voted Conservative, the demographics are growing, they’re changing, they’re shifting.”

Post said with Dufferin–Caledon being one of the fastest growing ridings in Ontario, the region needs proper representation to ensure it can meet population growth demands.

“There’s some very aggressive growth targets from the provincial level and I think we need to have a strong voice in Ottawa to advocate to make sure that we have the infrastructure dollars coming into this riding to make sure that we can take care of the people that we’re going to be moving here,” Post explained.

“I think that we need strong leadership at the helm to make sure that we’re going the right way and that we’re taking the right approach to making sure that our communities well taken care of.”

An important part of future development is to ensure Dufferin–Caledon’s pristine natural areas, such as the Greenbelt, Whitebelt, and Niagara Escarpment, have strong environmental protections, Post noted.

She said she’s glad to see there’s a federal assessment taking place for the proposed GTA West Corridor, otherwise known as Highway 413, which is poised to cut through sections of the Greenbelt.

“It’s really important that we make sure that if we’re moving ahead with a high superhighway of any kind, that we’re taking the environment into consideration, and that needs to be done,” said Post. “As a Councillor with the Town of Orangeville, we opposed the 413 on record and I’ll be interested to see what the federal impact assessment is, that’s going to be done.”

When looking at affordable housing, Post made note of the nearly $4 billion that the federal government budgeted for this year for housing affordability initiatives across Canada. Post told the Citizen, a strong voice in Ottawa that can advocate for that money to be spent locally is needed.

“The money’s there, it’s to be had, we just have to make the right arguments, and we need the right people in the right place to make those arguments,” she said. “That’s what I’m ready to do. I want to advocate for our people to make sure that some of those initiatives and some of that money is filtering into Dufferin–Caledon, where it needs to be.”

Going forward, Post said she’s going to continue knocking on doors, getting familiar with the residents across Dufferin and Caledon, and hearing their concerns.

“This election is for people. It’s not about Lisa Post, it’s not about any of the other candidates. This is about the people in this community, and the best thing that I can do is talk to them,” she noted. “We’re trying to hit every corner of this riding.”

Regardless of people’s political preferences, Post said she’s been encouraging everyone to get out and vote on September 20.

“We’re so fortunate to live in a country where a democracy exists, and we need people to take on that responsibility and that right and vote,” she stressed.

Anyone hoping to contact Post to share their concerns or ideas can call her campaign office (18371 Hurontario Street, Caledon Village) by phone at 289-368-POST (7678).