Campaign highlights, goals, and the future
Jessica Bell is the Member for Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the riding of University-Rosedale. A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), she is the current critic for housing, tenant rights, and urban planning. Before she worked at Queen’s Park, Bell founded and served as the Executive Director for TTCriders, a non-profit advocating for improvements to Toronto Transit.
The Strand: What were some of the highlights of your campaign?
Jessica Bell: “The highlights of the campaign were similar to the highlights of the job. We have an educated and diverse electorate that cares about issues I also see as top of mind, including housing, affordability, climate action, and our healthcare and education systems. It’s a highlight when you see that your values are really resonating with people in the riding.”
Did you face any difficulties this year, compared to your last election?
“It was a different election than last time. Last election, we had a tailwind because the Liberal vote collapsed in 2018. People just needed a change. In this election every party had headwinds because the Conservative vote was quite high provincially. There were many swing voters in University-Rosedale who couldn’t decide whether to vote NDP, Liberal or even Green, because their primary goal was to make sure Doug Ford didn’t get re-elected as Premier.”
What are your main priorities for the next four years?
“In the last term, my priorities were a fair economy, housing affordability, and a real response to the climate crisis. Accessible healthcare and a high-quality education system are also priorities. We have approximately 33 schools in our riding and every week I get calls from parents who are worried about their children not getting the support they need. I still see those five issues as the core issues that resonate most strongly in my riding. They’re brought up time and time again when I check in with residents and ask them what they’re concerned about, so I intend to work on them.”
You mentioned affordable housing as a priority. What steps should the province take towards more affordable housing?
“Many seniors and students in our riding are earning just above minimum wage and only work part time. You cannot find a place to rent in this city on those kinds of wages. It’s forcing people to commute long distances. It’s forcing people to share one bedroom between two or three people because they literally can’t make anything else work. We are pushing for a comprehensive Four Point Plan to make housing affordable again. It includes clamping down on investor speculation, building new housing to meet demand, providing supportive housing, and real rent control.”
What are some of the main obstacles to achieving these goals?
“The obstacles we face primarily have to do with the Doug Ford government as well as big investors and big corporate landlords who want to maintain their profit by keeping rent high. Unfortunately, that is the main reason we are seeing so much inequality in Ontario. Lower- and middle-income people have to pay more and more money to rent and that money is going to people that are already doing really well.”
Why do you think the Conservative government is so resistant to these changes?
“The homelessness crisis exists across Ontario, but it is most prevalent in urban areas that are mostly held by NDP MPPs. We see it more in our ridings than Conservative MPPs in more rural or suburban ridings. When we go to our local park or walk down the road, we see people in crisis living on the streets.
“The other piece is that the Ontario government mistakenly believes we can solve our housing crisis by just building a lot of homes. It’ll take at least ten years for our housing supply to meet demand. People who are homeless can’t wait that long. There are also many people who are never going to be able to afford a home even if it is built by a non-profit developer and rented at cost. That’s why we need government investment in supportive housing, as well as supports like social workers, mental health counsellors, and employment advisors who can help people get a job that works for them. That’s why the government’s argument falls short.”
How do you feel about the Ontario government’s policies towards post-secondary students and institutions, such as the Student Choice Initiative?
“The Doug Ford government has not been a friend to students. We organised with the student community to make sure that the so-called Student Choice Initiative was successfully struck down and I commend the student community for winning that fight in the courts. I worked with community radio stations like CI UT who were affected by the Student Choice Initiative, just like The Strand was. If I can think of an example of suppression of free speech, it is eliminating the right for students to organise and represent themselves democratically and to be able to fund newspapers and radio stations so that they can communicate with each other.
“We have been very clear about our position, which is that universities and colleges should get more funding. When universities and colleges are forced to raise revenue on their own, they have turned to international students to fund the shortfall. Programs teaching people to enter fields in need such as the personal support workers and healthcare workers should especially be provided with additional financial assistance, so it becomes an attractive option for students. Any provincial support that students get through OSAP [Ontario Student Assistance Program] should be converted from loans to grants, so that the option of college and university becomes an option for everyone that has the grades to participate.”
Do you have any concerns about the Ontario government’s budget moving forwards?
“I do. The budget is very status quo. It does not increase funding to education and healthcare, even though we are in a healthcare crisis. There are many emergency rooms now that have been closed down because of staffing shortages. It’s really concerning that they did not do more to address the issues we’re facing in education and healthcare.
“The other issue that came up is that the government has agreed to increase payments to people on the Ontario Disability Support Program by five percent and then look into indexing it to inflation. That falls far short of what is needed. If you’re on Ontario Disability Support as a single person, you can get a maximum of $1,200 a month. This change would just increase that by $58 a month. That’s chump change. We are calling for a doubling of social assistance payments and then indexing it to inflation so that we can lift people out of poverty. It’s the moral thing to do and it is the economically sensible move as well because poverty is extremely costly for everyone.”
