SooToday received the following Letter to the Editor from local Liberal candidate Gurwinder Dusanjh:
I have spent the past fortnight knocking on doors, talking with various stakeholders and engaging in the important conversations with the valued community members about their concerns and what they expect from their member of provincial parliament.
From health care to mental health and addictions to the rising cost of living to the privatization of many of the public services and everything in between, Saultites have made it clear that they want their voices heard. They want to ensure who they send to Queen's Park has their best interests in mind and, more importantly, in their heart.
Through attending local social events and the all candidate meetings, I have been able to speak with Arnold, Chris and Lisa in person and come out of our conversations with one thing being clear: although we may have different approaches, we all say we want the best for the Soo.
I know throughout this snap-election cycle that I have knocked on a thousand doors, engaged in a thousand conversations and realized Saultites have a thousand concerns about their present situation, as well as their future.
Being the candidate who got their name on the ballot at the eleventh hour, I am sure the other candidates have even more engaging conversations in our community.
Although we are not as of yet elected to the seat to represent the Sault Ste. Marie provincial riding, each of us have taken the step to hear out the voice of the riding with our own ears.
Between us all we must have spoken to at least half the electorate and it would go a long way to show that we care about Sault Ste. Marie if we engage in the necessary conversations about what Saultites have told us.
The Soo will choose only one of us to be their representative sent to Queen's Park and the others will be that individual's constituents until the next election and we must work together in order to bring meaningful and positive change to the Soo.
It is with this in mind that I would like to extend an invitation to Arnold Heino, Chris Scott, Jaycob Jacques, Lisa Vezeau-Allen and Paul Frolich for conversation and coffee at a local cafe after the election comes to a close to discuss what we have heard from knocking on the doors of our beloved neighbours.
This is not a debate, this is not a platform to attack one another, this is to debrief after a chaotic snap-election, to put our own ambitions aside and maturely engage in a civil discourse to ensure the voices we have spent the past month listening to are heard loud and clear.
I hope, in the spirit of camaraderie, we can set our differences aside and come together for those who need us the most, the residents of Sault Ste. Marie.
Join me in putting the Soo first? I look forward to your RSVP: [email protected]
Gurwinder Dusanjh
Sault Ste. Marie's Ontario Liberal Party Candidate