‘IF TRUMP’S GONNA ATTACK US — WE’RE GONNA FIGHT BACK,’ SAYS GREENS LEADER SCHREINER
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — If Mike Schreiner were premier what would he do with Donald Trump’s tariffs?
He’d squeeze the American president by going after neighbouring states.
“Seventeen states we’re their number one trading partner. I would target products in those 17 states. Whether it’s Kentucky bourbon or Florida oranges.
“I would target those products so Americans feel the same pain we’re going to feel and people in the United States will then put pressure on Trump to say ‘Whoa! You campaigned on making my life more affordable and you’re making it more expensive with these tariffs. Stop doing what you’re doing and work with Canadians.’”
Ontario’s Green Party leader says “We need to be ready for retaliatory tariffs.
We need to have all options on the table.
“If Trump’s gonna attack us — we’re gonna fight back.
“I’m all for pulling U.S. booze off our shelves.”
Yesterday, after walking the main street in Bracebridge glad-handing Fire & Ice Festival goers — and before opening Green candidate Matt Richter’s Gravenhurst campaign office and going out knocking on neighbourhood doors — we caught up with him to talk about this Wednesday when Doug Ford will start an election run for Feb. 27.
“I don’t know why the premier is wasting $150 million having an election a year and a half early. Especially at a time when we need stability. Not the instability of an election.
“We need to have strength through unity to fight back against these tariffs and to defend Canadian workers.”
Is Ford the Canadian leader to that?
“He’s abandoning his post. And even if you think Ford’s the guy to do it, why isn’t he doing his job instead of calling an election? Because I think he’s more worried about his own job than he is about your job.”
Does the premier need to worry about his job?
“I don’t understand. He says he needs a mandate. He’s got a majority government. So why is he abandoning his job to call an election? He needs to be held accountable for that.”
After heading home to Guelph later Saturday afternoon, Schreiner was in Toronto Sunday speaking at the Ontario Health Coalition to speak about “fighting back against privatization of health care.”
He’s calling on the Ford government “to properly invest in health care.
“You know, like here in Parry Sound-Muskoka 20,000 people here are without access to a family doctor and 2.5 million around Ontario.
“So we’re saying to the Ford government ‘stop wasting money building tunnels under the 401, or a mega spa downtown Toronto, Hwy. 413.’ We need health care not highways.”
However “housing is our number one priority. So many people can’t afford the rent and wondering if they will ever afford a home. The number of people experiencing homelessness is exploding across the province.
“The Ontario Greens have put forward the best comprehensive plan to address the housing crisis.
“Our main goal is people say of (Greens MPP) Aislinn Clancy and I, we punch well above our weight. We hold the government accountable in a very effective way. And we’re able to deliver for people in our riding. And that’s exactly what our goal is in this campaign. We want to expand the number of Greens elected across this province. So they can deliver for people in their riding and so we hold the government more accountable in a more effective way.
“And the one message I’m getting out to folks loud and clear in Muskoka is I’m not going to be Matt Richter’s boss. The people of Parry Sound-Muskoka are his boss. He is going to be their advocate at Queen’s Park. Not the party’s advocate here in Parry Sound-Muskoka.”
Returning to tariffs, Schreiner agrees with renewed calls for more east-west trade in light of impending renewed north-south negotiations
“I’ve been saying for years we should get rid inter-provincial trade barriers. It makes absolutely no sense we have free trade agreements with other countries, we don’t have free trade within Canada.”
Richter said Ford is worried about the “RCMP investigation against the Greenbelt scandal and possibly concerned about the federal government going Conservative” when traditionally Ontario and Ottawa haven’t had the same parties in power. “So a lot of reasons why he wants to get ahead of this.”
He also said he is “very optimistic” about his chances after coming close to upsetting Tory MPP Graydon Smith just in June 2022.
“The momentum on the street is that people are thrilled to be hearing they have the opportunity to send Matt Richter down as a strong independent voice to put people ahead of party for real solutions to the issues that they have been hearing about.
“I’m hearing people here on the main street of Bracebridge complaining about the cost of living, the lack of affordable housing. There’s no real meaningful action toward genuine solutions to health care and education. But we have a way moving forward and funding all those things.
“It’s pretty exciting some of the pushes that we are putting out there,” he said, adding “one action item is to ensure that all households that have an income under $100,000 can have a heat pump provided for them. That’s an efficient way of using our tax dollars instead of Doug Ford and Graydon Smith talking about drilling a tunnel under the 401 or using cheques to bribe us — and $200 going to the super rich.
“We have our policies that reach the people that we are actually proud of.”
Richter is campaigning fulltime. He took a leave in December from his job teaching at Riverside Public School in Huntsville.
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