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With close to one hundred people in attendance in his home riding of Guelph and hundreds more watching online, the Green Party Leader showed why a new voice is needed at Queen’s Park to bring honesty and real solutions over partisan bickering.
In his opening comments, Schreiner said:
“I want to thank the hundreds of people out there protesting in Toronto to stand up for fair debates. It’s a slap in the face to the people of Ontario to exclude one of the four publicly funded parties. Tonight, will those parties talk about leaping into the future with clean economy jobs? Will they talk about supporting small businesses? Will they talk about a basic income guarantee to eliminate poverty? Will they talk about preventative healthcare?”
Throughout the debate, Schreiner provided his answers to the questions, sharing how the Green Party would support small businesses to pay living wages; introduce fair carbon pricing that applies to the largest polluters; tackle the real cause of high electricity prices by saying no to expensive nuclear; and get at the root of overcrowded hospitals.
Schreiner also fact-checked the status quo party leaders on their mistruths, including Doug Ford’s fear-mongering about climate pricing; Andrea Horwath’s dishonesty about small businesses; and Kathleen Wynne’s untruth about the need to privatize Hydro One. While the other parties were combative over each other’s endless spending promises and tax cuts without any plan for generating revenue, Schreiner shared the Green Party’s honest plan for fiscal responsibility through measures like road pricing and choosing cheaper water power.
In his closing statement, Schreiner said:
“If you want to change the political status quo in this province, the only way to do it is to vote for a party with a new vision and a new way of doing politics. When people see Green politicians in action, they see that politics can be done differently. Even having a few Green MPPs can change the political culture and make people’s lives better.”
Highlights from the livestream are here:
On why I can be trusted: “I’m the only leader with the honesty to tell you how we’re going to pay for public services and world class transit. #MikeAtTheMic #ONdebate pic.twitter.com/cvr9KUdyiq
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
#MikeAtTheMic #ondebate pic.twitter.com/UGtNOcrL13
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
What are we doing to tackle poverty and inequality: “4.1 billion in mental health and the first party to propose a Basic Income Guarantee for all” #ONDebate #MikeAtTheMic #OnElxn pic.twitter.com/kIcDXgV1LL
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
The other parties aren’t taking #climate change seriously. #ONDebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/0RgnHluhQ4
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
Greens will not use wedge politics to divide people. We support paying a living wage and giving small businesses the payroll tax relief to hire more workers. #MikeAtTheMic #ONDebate #OnElxn pic.twitter.com/bXJw0B4uJn
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
.@slycastaldi deserves the compliments she is receiving for the powerful work she has done to end violence against women in Guelph. #ondebate #onexln #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/hsUk64ML2f
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
We’re committed to building a culture of anti-oppression within the Green Party of Ontario and will be committed to doing so in the public sector. #MikeAtTheMic #ONDebate pic.twitter.com/IsjEXcHXvw
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
The 407 data breach shows why we need strong data protections in place and why they need to be applied to political parties. #ondebate #MikeAtTheMic #onpoli #onelxn pic.twitter.com/ZThd8aHksk
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
.@AndreaHorwath @fordnation @Kathleen_Wynne: What’s your actual plan for getting electricity prices under control? #MikeAtTheMic #ondebate pic.twitter.com/7uKtbtT5ED
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
We need a government that is going to respect bargaining rights, respect unions and work for negotiated settlements. #ONdebate #MikeAtTheMic #OnElxn #onpoli pic.twitter.com/9Xjx4oBCGt
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
.@fordnation: I’ve counted about $20-billion in cuts and around $6-billion in spending.
How does that sound fiscally responsible? #onelxn #ONDebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/pVhHIZ2H3z
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
.@fordnation: I’ve counted about $20-billion in cuts and around $6-billion in spending.
How does that sound fiscally responsible? #onelxn #ONDebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/pVhHIZ2H3z
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
Do you know what I didn’t hear from any of those answers? A willingness to skate to where the puck is going and creating jobs for the clean economy. #MikeAtTheMic #ONDebate #OnElxn pic.twitter.com/nUZ97B1TuB
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
The wealthiest corporations should pay a bit more but I disagree with the NDP’s plan to raise taxes on small businesses by 28%. They are critical to creating vibrant and liveable communities like we have in #Guelph. #ONdebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/JMNiFUtUlo
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
I think we need to be more honest with our budget.
i.e. Why are we spending millions to subsidize jet fuel? #MikeAtTheMic #OnElxn #ONDebate pic.twitter.com/WG6nED3uRN
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
.@fordnation’s understanding of carbon pricing is absurd. #OnElxn #MikeAtTheMic #ONDebate pic.twitter.com/ckGYC9NDyx
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
Our plan on carbon pricing: 1) We won’t exempt the 150 largest polluters. 2) We’ll return money to Ontarians help them adjust. 3) We’ll redirect business incentives to clean jobs #ONDebate #MikeAtTheMic #OnElxn pic.twitter.com/iA1CZWQ820
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
Let’s be honest about what is really raising electricity costs – pouring money into old, expensive nuclear. I wouldn’t use milk past its best-before date. Why are we wasting money to keep Pickering open past its expiration date? #OnElxn #ONdebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/s2isoJaaZQ
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
I have a #FactCheck for two things regarding the increasing of electricity prices. #ONElxn #ONdebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/7vYBFqYNx3
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 27, 2018
.@fordnation: As a dad, I can tell you that daycare certainly goes past 4:30pm. 🤣#MikeAtTheMic #ONElxn #ONdebate pic.twitter.com/gYmaIRrR02
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 28, 2018
Our plan on childcare: We support $12 per day childcare and we would apply it to all age groups. But it needs to be available along a range of options so that people can choose safe and licensed providers. #onelxn #ondebate #MikeAtTheMic pic.twitter.com/rjYv0MA53y
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 28, 2018
Yes, we need more funding for hospitals, but we need to get to the root of the problem. #MikeAtTheMic #OnElxn #ONDebate pic.twitter.com/63US3eLmeJ
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 28, 2018
Closing statement: When people see Green politicians in action, they see politics can be done differently. Even having one or two Green MPPs can change the political culture and make people’s lives better. #Onelxn #ONdebate #MikeAtTheMic #onpoli pic.twitter.com/TAXGVLVQz5
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) May 28, 2018
You can view the whole livestream on Facebook Live here.