Toronto – July 5, 2013 – The race is on for five provincial ridings in Ontario, which all promise to be more than just a test of the newly-appointed Premier, Kathleen Wynne. The outcome of the by-elections should also reveal how Ontarians feel about the government’s past history. That past includes Dalton McGuinty’s costly cancellation of two power plants, the ongoing Ornge scandal, and the government’s lacklustre dealings with public sector unions.

The by-elections (involving the ridings of London West, Windsor—Tecumseh, Scarborough—Guildwood, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, and Ottawa South for August 1) also provide workers and the middle class with a strong opportunity to send a very clear message to all the political parties about how they want governments to operate in the future.    

Electing candidates who will work for – and not against – the public interest, who realise that austerity programs combined with continued tax cuts for the ultra-rich are destroying the middle class, and who know that regressive U.S. Republican-style labour legislation is neither needed nor wanted, will help determine the path that government will and should follow in the future.

Between now and August 1, it’s crucial for voters in London West, Windsor—Tecumseh, Scarborough—Guildwood, Etobicoke—Lakeshore and Ottawa South to find out what their local candidates and corresponding political parties truly stand for.

For those of us who live in the by-election ridings, we must ask the candidates tough questions about our rights, our future, and the growing gap between the super-rich and the rest of us, and we must listen very carefully to the answers. Only then, will we be able to vote for the candidate and party that truly represents the interests of working families, and who are fully committed to building a stronger, fairer Ontario.