Ethan Russell

I come from a working-class family. My father works in manufacturing, and my mother works in retail. I have seen my mother bounce from retail job to retail job, with few willing to pay a living wage. I have seen my father break his body trying to ensure my family can live a good life. It has taught me resilience and how to work for myself, but it has also taught me about the injustices in our society. I have worked in retail for many years myself and have spent the past two and a half years studying early childhood education. As a young person attending college, I have seen classmates and friends choose to drive for hours just to attend class because housing is simply too expensive.

As someone who has worked in childcare centres, I have met parents who rely on $10 a day childcare to survive, and I have worked alongside educators who tell me to leave the field because we do not pay them nearly what their work is worth. I have seen my mother bounce between temporary jobs because our economy has stagnated to unacceptable levels. I believe we cannot afford another four (4) years of Conservative government, and we cannot risk another Liberal government. We need a government that works for the people, that is powered by the people. I see people around me struggle to make ends meet, I see them not knowing if they will be able to feed both them and their children. I have seen every other major political party fail them, but I fully believe the Green Party of Ontario has what it takes to help the people of this province and the people.