CANDIDATE PROFILE: BARBARA DOYLE, NDP

NAME: Barbara Doyle, NDP candidate, Haliburton-kawartha Lakesbrock

AGE: 51 years old

RESIDENCE: Lindsay resident

OCCUPTATION: Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives manager; educated in legal administration and real estate; family law reform and domestic violence sector advocate; participant in several different municipal committees/task forces.

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

"I was the NDP candidate in the 2019 federal election, which was a good introduction to proper campaigning for me. But wanting to serve our local community better, I knew that I would be able to have much more impact with Provincial issues, helping people in ways that matter most"

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE PROVINCE'S COVID-19 RESPONSE?

"I would say that by ignoring expert medical advice, which resulted in more than 12,000 deaths in Ontario, and nearly 4,000 of those being seniors in longterm care, that Ford's Conservatives get an F for failing this province.

The Ontario NDP has a plan to make sure we learn the lessons from this pandemic, to strengthen our health care system, supporting our workers with better wages and paid sick days, and to prepare for future health crisis."

IF ELECTED, I WILL...

"For the first time in generations, our children/ grand-children won't have it better than we had it. People are finding it harder to pay the bills, even if they have a good job. Many are seeing their dreams of starting a family, owning their own home or starting a business slip further away each day. The last two years have been a long, painful battle - one we're still in the final rounds of fighting.

But these problems didn't start with COVID-19. They stretch back for years and years.

Let's rebuild what we've lost and fix what's been broken for far too long. Let's have a government that puts everyday people first.

On a local level, I will immediately seek to repeal Private Bill 65, An Act Respecting the Ross Memorial Hospital, 2022 that was tabled by [current] MPP Laurie Scott on April 28, 2022 that provided the hospital board sole power to cut acute care services and abolished community memberships. We need to ensure that our hospital is once again protected against loss of services and amalgamation, while also returning community memberships.

Let's revive our public health care and ramp up staffing. Let's get every Ontarian mental health care, drug and dental care. Let's get profit out of seniors' care and give our elders the quality community care and long-term care they deserve.

And let's make life more affordable for everyone from increasing wages and supports, to hydro, to auto insurance and gasoline, to childcare and the cost of housing.

Together, I know we can get it done."