Having served in the community for over 25 years as a volunteer and councillor, and a member of provincial parliament for the Niagara Falls riding for seven years, Liberal incumbent Kim Craitor says he knows a lot about politics.
He says the community must play an important role in politics to make a difference and he is hoping people will come out to vote in the provincial election on Oct. 6.
The MPP says there are many issues Niagara residents face and one of the most important of those issues is the state of health care. He believes educating people about their health care is key.
"There have been a lot of mistakes the government has made and one of them is we haven't properly educated people on health care — specifically about Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN)s.
LHINs are an example of how people are uneducated about health care, because a lot of people don't realize the services they provide such as long-term care and community health centres, says Craitor.
The MPP says the LHINs aren't perfect but they shouldn't be completely scrapped because they do provide services that are beneficial to the communities. He says most people don't realize the people that run LHINs are community-based professionals.
"LHINs are made up of board members of people who live in the community and are often affected by the services they provide."
Craitor says he believes health care is for the people, and not something that should be taken lightly. He says the best way to achieve a change in health care is to consult with the community — the people that use health care and those who give it such as doctors and nurses.
"Health care is unsustainable and we're just at the tip of it. The demand for it will go through the roof and now the time has come to take the politics out of health care."
Craitor suggests the best possible way to make a change is to involve every party in a discussion about the needs in health care. He says the problem with health care is politics have gotten in the way.
"What we need to do is take all of the parties, sit down and determine the best possible health care system and the changes that can be made in Ontario. We need to come out as one voice together. No matter what decision is made, there will always be someone that says it is wrong."
The MPP says he has worked in a variety of labour jobs and he understands the value of hard-working families.
"We can't create a policy that pleases everyone, but the key to really help communities is to work closely within the community. The economic development within a community starts at home."
Craitor says much of the workforce has become knowledge based and there are many young adults who come out of high school without job opportunities.
"The idea of knowledge based skills is significant and it is something that the government can invest in."
For the MPP, the people who live in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort Erie and Niagara Falls come first. If he doesn't believe in something his party stands for, Craitor says he is not afraid to go against it if it's not what the people want.
"People come first, I'm going to tell our party that."
Craitor says his role as MPP is to go out into the community and learn all he can with the people he is serving.
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