Wynne in the hot seat

By Kacie Cooper

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne fielded questions Thursday during a townhall at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts in Windsor.

Topics ranged from mental health, well water testing in Chatham-Kent, the rates for Hydro One and funding in education sectors.

To most of the questions asked of her the answer remained the same: “we recognize there is a problem and we are looking into it.”

She did not explain how the province would make up lost revenue from the sale of Hydro One and angered many people when she redirected questions to topics that already had policies underway or had already been implemented. She was also asked about communication between the provincial government and residents of Ontario when reaching out to address issues.

“We have tried for the last 10 weeks to contact the ministry of Environment staff,” said Kevin Jakubec, a resident of Chatham-Kent who expressed his concern with the Ministry of Environment’s lack of initiative in addressing the area’s well water issue. “This is unheard of.”

When it came to concerns about dental care for children of low-income families she briefly mentioned her concern about the issue and then discussed OHIP+, the latest addition to Ontario pharmacare which provides free prescriptions for anyone under 25.

Throughout the entire meeting, the mediator standing with Wynne prompted attendees to hurry through their questions and concerns. Out of the more than 100 people who showed up, fewer than 20 people were able to ask questions of the Premier, many of them interrupted by the mediator.

Wynne is currently travelling the province over the next few months, leading up to the election in June, to allow Ontario residents to voice their concerns and ask the premier questions.