If there’s one main reason why Alison Kelly chose to run provincially for the New Democratic Party in Bay of Quinte riding this election, it’s this: fixing and restoring institutions that have buckled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everything from housing, to health care, education and seniors’ care has been laid bare by the pandemic. Kelly said the NDP is the party that will work to fix the systemic problems tearing at the fabric of communities across Ontario.
“For me, I’m running because I’m recognizing in the community how many people are struggling and how things have gotten really hard and how people in my community can’t afford the things they used to be able to afford. We all recognize the housing crisis that we’re seeing in all our communities, we have a health-care system and a seniors’ care system that COVID-19 just exposed as having problems. For me, this election is about showing people and showing my community that you can have a government that actually focuses on people, that focuses on the things that matter most,” said Kelly. “And that we can fix it; it’s not impossible. We can fix it. We need to put forward fundamental efforts to fixing things to make it easier for families.”
The NDP election platform to make life easier for working families includes such items as pharmacare, universal dental care and better access to mental health care, affordable daycare and making post-secondary education more affordable, just to mention a few, she said.
“As I mentioned, COVID-19 really exposed some of the holes in our system. There has been so much tragedies in our communities that didn’t need to happen. But it showed us there is so many things to fix and the NDP wants to fix them,” she said.
The married mother of two young children is making her maiden voyage into provincial politics while raising a family, managing a career in IT as well as a four-year stint as a trustee on the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. She also sits on several community committees and volunteers as an on-air host of a community radio station.
“I’m very busy but I do it because I love the community, I love the people here. It’s kind of what you do, you’re kind of expected to get involved and pitch in and fill in the gaps when there’s a need,” said Kelly.
She grew up in Belleville where she attended elementary and secondary schools before moving to Toronto for her post-secondary education. She received her degree from Ryerson and started a career in the IT field.
She and her husband Jeremy moved to Cherry Valley in Prince Edward County in 2013 to raise their family. It was the small-town feel and the sense of community that proved appealing.
“When it came time to figure out what’s next for my family I just looked at my husband and said, you know, I want to be where there is wide-open spaces, where our kids can be a little more free, in the sense of you know small communities where you go to a festival and you’re like ‘just make smart choices, kids’ and off they go because everyone there is looking out for one another,” said Kelly.
The lack of affordability within her own Bay of Quinte Riding and across Ontario, she said, is paramount in this election campaign.
Life has become unaffordable and it is driving some people out of Prince Edward County.
“I’ve heard from so many people that they can’t afford to live here any more, so they’re leaving. They’re leaving their families, they’re leaving their communities. They want to stay here, who wouldn’t want to stay here it’s so magical, but it’s become so unaffordable,” she said.
Kelly said there are stories of people within her riding who’ve simply been priced out of the housing and rental markets.
“Affordability first and foremost. Through the pandemic, I know families who were evicted from their homes through ‘reno-viction’ practices. Landlords want to evict them due to some minor upgrades in some cases to be able to offer a higher rent for another family. I know two families who were forced out of their homes and were living in trailers in a field. One family was living there during the winter without heat. That is the reality of what is happening in my community.”
Kelly said one key plank in the NDP election platform is to implement a freeze on rent so when a tenant moves into to a rental accommodation, the landlord can only charge the same rent as the one charged to the previous tenant.
“I’m hearing about people in Belleville whose rent has doubled and tripled. That’s unacceptable. We can’t be doing that to each other. The health of a community is how we treat other people. And, I’m not convinced our current government really values us in the sense that we can be healthy,” she said.
When asked about talk regarding the NDP amalgamating with the Liberals in an effort to defeat the incumbent Progressive Conservatives, Kelly scoffed at the notion. She reminded people the NDP were the official opposition in Ontario over the past four years with the Liberals reduced to rump status after a resounding defeat in the 2018 provincial campaign.
“The NDP is in the best position to get Doug out. We really are. We have the most seats…They (the Liberals) were shown the door for a reason. People have not forgotten some of the decisions that were made under the Liberal government. Some bad policies that were made that led to the crisis we saw, when you add it on to Doug Ford’s policies, his cutting, and then we had COVID.”
Moreover, the NDP finished a solid second in Bay of Quinte in the 2018 provincial election, garnering 38 per cent of the votes in the riding.
Kelly is adamant she and the NDP stand the best chance in Ontario to relegating Doug Ford and the PCs to the political sidelines.
“I am the best choice in Bay of Quinte to take a seat away from Doug Ford. I am a school board trustee, I have advocated for my community, not even just my community, but for Belleville, Quinte West all the way up to Madoc. I am a very hard worker. I’m not afraid of power, meaning I’m not someone who just nods my head and will align myself with the party because I’m supposed to. My priority is to the people of Bay of Quinte first and foremost,” she said.
Other candidates running in Bay of Quinte include PC incumbent Todd Smith, Liberal Emilie Leneveu, Green Party’s Eric Charlton and Rob Collins for the New Blue Party.
(Written by: Alan Rivett)
