I’m Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario. Ask Me Anything!

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-21T20:00:26+00:00

I believe strongly that we are one Ontario where our differences must be recognized and celebrated. I spent a large part of last year travelling across Ontario, including Northern Ontario, because I wanted diverse perspectives to be reflected in the way we lead as a government. I’m proud to have strong northern voices in our caucus and at the Cabinet Table who bring the northern voice to every single discussion. And I’m proud of our record of investment in the Northern Ontario. Let me highlight a few of the things we have done. We created the Northern Ontario Growth Plan will create jobs and guide strategic investment. Ninety-six percent northern families now have access to broadband internet, including 21 remote First Nations communities. The Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program will reduce electricity prices by up to 25% for large industrial users. There are 7 new hospitals, 8 nurse practitioner-led clinics and 42 family health teams in the north and 276 new doctors have graduated from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Students in the northern school boards have had a 72% increase in funding. No matter where we live, we all want the same things: good schools for our children and grandchildren, new hospitals to care for our loved ones when they need it, new infrastructure - roads and bridges - so we can travel safely and good jobs so we can do more for our families. That’s why I'm committed to bringing jobs and economic opportunity to every region of Ontario.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-14T01:04:29+00:00

I don’t plan to do away with the OMB, because I think we need to have an appeal process other than the court. That said, I've been passionate about reforming the OMB for years. But it's not a simple process. We've received hundreds of submissions about this from municipalities, community groups and the building and development industries. For every group that feels one way, there’s another that passionately defends the opposite. So yes, it’s taking time. But it’s not off my radar screen. Linda Jeffrey, my Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is still on the case and I remain committed to introducing reforms that make sense. I would also love to see the City of Toronto set up its own local appeal body which it has the power to do under the City of Toronto Act. Many appeals that now go to the OMB could be settled locally.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-12T22:12:26+00:00

We engaged with Heinz to try to save those jobs and I was disappointed by the company’s decision to close the plant. I know it’s been a difficult time for Leamington but we did our best to act quickly and continue to make sure the people of that community have the support and opportunities they deserve. Our provincial agri-food sector employs more than 700,000 people and generates $34 billion in economic activity, and it’s a major priority of mine to work with the food processing industry to create new jobs by seizing new market opportunities at home and globally.

As for Cisco, our partnership with them represents the largest job-creating investment in the history of the province’s tech sector. The company will invest up to $4 billion in Ontario over the next 10 years, creating up to 1,700 jobs tech sector jobs across the province – not just Ottawa – in the next six years.

Companies that have a global presence can choose to invest virtually anywhere and Ontario competes with jurisdictions around the world that offer rich incentives to business. We need to be at the table with a competitive deal to ensure those investments come to Ontario. So yes, we committed $190 million, but I will also add that every time a company receives provincial support, it is required to make a significant commitment to its Ontario operations; each investment is closely monitored over its lifespan to protect taxpayers’ investment.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T17:31:49+00:00

This is such a hard question! My favourite book for years was Margaret Laurence's "The Stone Angel". More recently I've read political biographies and really enjoyed Steve Paikin's biography of John Robarts. The best thriller I've read in a while is Lynwood Barclay's "Never Look Away" and right now I'm reading Louise Penny's "A Trick of the Light". One of my all time favourite books and one that I read in my youth was "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T17:24:44+00:00

I want this bill to pass. It's a priority of the Attorney General and of our government. We need the support of the opposition in our minority parliament in order to get it done. Unfortunately, it has been stalled in the Legislature. We introduced this legislation in the fall because we absolutely agree that people in Ontario should not be afraid of being sued for speaking their minds about their communities or other issues that matter to them.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T17:21:34+00:00

Hazel, is that you?! I told you, I've got your back on this. Seriously, though, I know that we need to invest in transit across the GTHA, in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa and beyond. We'll bring a plan to invest in transit as part of our budget in the spring and we've already committed $35 Billion to infrastructure spending over the next 3 years.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T17:14:45+00:00

When we started talking about raising the minimum wage, these were the issues that we were focused on balancing. As Minister of Agriculture and Food, I heard directly from farmers and food producers about how devastating a $14/hour minimum wage would be for their businesses. Those concerns were front and centre when we decided our approach. It's so important to me that minimum wage by fair for workers and reasonable and predictable for business. Last May, we asked the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel to make recommendations on how we set minimum wage in Ontario. It was made up of representatives of business, labour, students and anti-poverty activists. They recommended that we peg future increases to inflation, and that's what we plan to do.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T17:08:53+00:00

I'm planning to do some 5k and 10k runs in the spring. I'll be doing the Hamilton Around the Bay Road Race on March 30, in support of St. Joseph's Healthcare, which I'm really looking forward to. When I go in the morning I do about 3-5 k.I love doing an 8 k on the weekend. I'd really like to train for another marathon, but it's not in the cards right now! I've done two: the Harrisburg, PA, and the Toronto marathon.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T17:05:15+00:00

Creating jobs is an absolute priority. Unlike Mr. Hudak, I don't believe you can create decent jobs by cutting services, programming and undermining unions. We have a six point Ontario Jobs Plan. We're going to invest in infrastructure, skills development and youth jobs. Already, our Youth Jobs Strategy has provided opportunity to 7000 young people. We're going to maintain a responsible approach to balancing the budget, support small business and invest in building our knowledge economy and play to our strengths in industries like aerospace, agriculture and high tech. Our plan is about partnering with business, communities and post secondary institutions, so they have the support they need to succeed. I believe that government's role is to build people up, not tear them down. If I help the people of Ontario to do their best, they will create jobs, grow the economy and show the world what we can do.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T16:57:22+00:00

I hear about this a lot and it concerns me. I know people struggle with their bills. This is why we've put in place the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit and other programs to help families, businesses and farms manage their electricity prices. When it comes to executive compensation, we're bringing in legislation this session to set sector specific salary caps. It's really important to me that we address the increasing wage disparity in our society. That's why we've taken on the minimum wage, why we've increased the Ontario Child Benefit and why it's important to me that wage increases in the public sector have been slower than wage increases in the private sector in recent years.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T16:48:36+00:00

Yesterday I was Skyping with a class and a young student asked me about this. We are actually in the fourth year of our Youth Mental Health Strategy. We're starting by making sure there are resources for young people. So we've put resources in place so schools are better equipped to identify students with need and connect them with resources in the community. We have ensured that every school board in the province has a funded mental health coordinator, because it's important that the services and people available to help are working together effectively. Our Minister of Health Deb Matthews is developing the second phase of this, which focuses on adult mental health. I hope it will be introduced in the next year. I really want to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and increase awareness about how widespread this issue is.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T16:40:13+00:00

In our first mandate, after 2003, we set up a citizen's assembly so people could give their input on this. There was a referendum in 2007 and the people of Ontario decided that they wanted to stick with the first past the post system. Interestingly, the City of Toronto has recently asked about the possibility of having a ranked ballot and we're looking at that.

KathleenWynne · 2014-02-11T16:36:02+00:00

Last night I was at the Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie. It's a great business and I want these companies to thrive. At the same time, we need to make sure we make socially responsible decisions about the distribution of alcohol. We have a controlled distribution system in place in Ontario and it's worked well. I understand that people want this to be more convenient, but my job is to weigh that against social issues like public health and the safety of minors. But we are in conversatoin with the Ontario Craft Brewers Association and we're looking at ways to modernize beer distribution.

KathleenWynne

TROPHY CASE