Scott believes economy and healthcare will be election priorities

Progressive Conservative candidate Laurie Scott thinks the provincial election this spring will be fought on the Ontario economy, the state of the province’s health care system, and how happy people are with the Progressive Conservative’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the economy, the veteran member believes the PCs have much to be proud of.

“We have produced 300,000 more jobs than there were when the pandemic began,” Scott said in a telephone interview with the Advocate. “We are working hard to match skills with the appropriate trades. There are more EV vehicle announcements to come with more jobs in Oshawa for local workers. We have made the biggest investment in infrastructure in the province’s history, spending millions on broadband, highways and transit. There are going to be tons of jobs for the next generation of workers in Ontario.”

Scott also detailed some of the changes that have been brought about in Ontario healthcare because of government investments.

“Locally, there is now an extra operating room at Ross Memorial Hospital. We are working hard at PSW and nursing training and recruitment. We are also funding more residency spots for new doctors to train in Ontario.”

When asked to address the NDP promise to buy all of Ontario’s privately-run long-term care homes so they can be run as a public trust like Ontario’s hospitals already are, Scott thought that was $7 billion that could be spent more effectively elsewhere.

“Why would you want to buy old facilities back,” Scott said. “It is a far better investment to build new facilities.”

Scott said the Progressive Conservatives will be hiring 193 new long-term care facility inspectors “to make the Ontario long-term care system the most inspected in Canada.”

On the issue of the pandemic, Scott said the election would be a report card on how well the government of Doug Ford handled the pandemic.

When asked to grade the government’s performance, Scott offered a nuanced response.

“I think we did very well, but no level of government was perfect. We had to make a lot of tough calls. I think the large majority of people support the decisions we made. We tried to use the best science available. We are very proud of our vaccination rates which are the highest in North America. We spent $20 billion to fight this pandemic. No expense was spared.”

Scott believes that the pandemic has been at least partially responsible for the record number of Progressive Conservatives not seeking re-election in 2022.

“The pandemic has taken its toll. It has been an exhausting two years for people at all levels.”

Scott hopes that her advocacy for the riding and the hard work of the people in her constituency office stands her in good stead to be re-elected in June.

“I am a strong advocate for the needs of the area. I have had 18 years to get to know the riding well. We are in the community quite a bit making connections and getting feedback.”