Scott Healey is running in his first provincial election as the PC Party of Ontario candidate for Ottawa Centre.
Healey served in the Royal Canadian Navy as a naval warfare officer for 40 years and was deployed in Afghanistan 2008-09. He is also president of the naval officers’ mess for the National Capital Region and the Order of St. George’s national fundraising director for veterans and interpreters of the war in Afghanistan.
He spoke with the Charlatan to discuss health care, climate change, affordable housing and Indigenous relations.
Health care
Healey said the Ontario PCs are dedicated to helping the province’s health-care system recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. They will do this by investing over $40 billion over 10 years to strengthen health-care infrastructure by building new hospitals and updating existing facilities.
Locally, Healey said this funding will go toward the construction of the Ottawa Hospital’s new Civic Campus.
“[The Civic Campus] is one of the largest single investments any entity in this province has made in decades,” he said. “As the local MPP, I would work towards ensuring that more funding was available, that the best technologies and the best facilities could be installed in that hospital to ensure that it remains and becomes an even better world-class organization.”
“It’s not just bricks and mortar in building hospitals. It’s also ensuring that those hospitals are properly resourced with people.”
Healey said the Ontario PCs recognize that increasing the number of health-care facilities will not alleviate the staffing shortage many Ontario hospitals face.
“It’s not just bricks and mortar in building hospitals,” Healey said. “It’s also ensuring that those hospitals are properly resourced with people. At the end of the day, it’s people that seek [out] an organization and make [its] system work.”
He said the Ontario PCs have budgeted $42.5 million over two years to open more spots for nursing and medical students in post-secondary institutions across the province. Healey noted that training more students would help gradually fill shortages in health-care staff.
Climate change
According to Healey, the Ontario PCs plan to take an economic approach to reducing carbon emissions. Healey said the party’s main climate change initiative is to increase electrification and electric car battery production in Ontario.
The Ontario PCs are currently partnering with the federal government to build the first large-scale electric car battery plant in Canada, located in Windsor, Ont. Healey pointed to the environmental and economic advantages of having the plant in Ontario.
“[These] significant investments clearly indicate where the province wants to be with regards to reducing emissions and remaining a competitive automobile industry,” he said.
In addition to reducing emissions, Healey said the province’s shift to electrification will create 2,500 new jobs in the industry.
“We’re employing people in good-paying, skilled jobs that are going to move this province forward and keep it competitive,” he said.
Healey added the Ontario PCs will also invest in the steelmaking industry, which includes strengthening a $1.8 billion deal with ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Ont., to promote cleaner steelmaking and protect 4,600 jobs.
“We’re employing people in good-paying, skilled jobs that are going to move this province forward and keep it competitive.”
Increasing public transit accessibility is also part of the Ontario PCs’ platform to reduce emissions, Healey said.
Locally, he said the Ontario PCs will continue expanding Ottawa’s light rail transit system into its third development stage—a projected $5-billion investment.
“Public transit is crucial for urban residents to get around and to reduce their carbon footprint,” Healey said.
Affordable housing
In accordance with the recommendations of the Housing Affordability Task Force, Healey said the Ontario PCs aim to build 1.5 million homes across Ontario over the next 10 years.
“Supply needs to be increased significantly in order to provide rental and potentially ownership opportunities for all citizens.”
Building more homes, Healey said, will give citizens more opportunities to buy and rent them, alleviating the demand.
“[Housing affordability] is a supply issue,” he said. “Supply needs to be increased significantly in order to provide rental and potentially ownership opportunities for all citizens.”
Healey also pledged to work with local municipalities to ensure housing projects are completed efficiently and the supply issue is reduced as soon as possible.
“The province is [often] waiting two or three years to get projects done,” he said. “We need to move much, much quicker.”
Healey said the Ontario PCs will continue with their initiative to invest $1 billion in organizations that care for homeless populations.
“[Homelessness] is certainly not something that any of us, in any city in a wealthy country … should be seeing so prominently,” he said.
He added collaborative action between the government, municipalities and stakeholders will be the first step to increase housing affordability and to decrease the growing homeless populations.
“It’s about showing that people are working together instead of against each other,” Healey said.
Indigenous relations
Healey said the Ontario PCs are dedicated to collaborating with Indigenous communities in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire to extract valuable resources like lithium and cobalt.
“Our government is fully committed to partnerships and collaborations with Indigenous peoples to make sure that they are part of the partnership and not just sitting on the sidelines,” he said.
He noted the partnerships will also benefit the Ontario PCs’ shift to electrification.
“Those partnerships and agreements are so vital for our competitiveness,” he said. “We need [the materials] for the battery industry.”
“Our government is fully committed to partnerships and collaborations with Indigenous peoples to make sure that they are part of the partnership and not just sitting on the sidelines.”
Healey said he will “work tirelessly” to foster a positive relationship with Indigenous constituents in his riding.
“My door will always be open,” he said.
For more information on Healey, visit his campaign page.
Featured image by The Notley Creative.
