Gin Siow

Conservative Party
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Dear University of Toronto students,

My name is Gin Siow and I am running in Trinity-Spadina for the Conservative Party of Canada. In 1982, I emigrated from Malaysia to Canada, where I immediately put my entrepreneurial skills to work. The Conservative Party believes in hard work, responsibility, and equal opportunity.

Equal opportunities to education are so important. That is why, under Stephen Harper, our government introduced the Canada Student Grants Program in 2009 and distributed 290,000 grants in the 2009–2010 school year. We have also increased transfers to the provinces by 40 per cent and made scholarships and bursaries tax-free. Because of our actions, our government received an “A” rating from the Conference Board of Canada for education and skills training.

Looking to the future, our government has also announced that we will make student loans interest-free for part-time students. This means that workers can upgrade their education without quitting their jobs. With two children of my own in university, I appreciate the Conservative Party’s efforts in education, and hope I can count on your support on May 2 to continue delivering results for students.

Sincerely,

Gin Siow, Candidate, Trinity-Spadina; Conservative Party of Canada


Rachel Barney

Green Party
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Why vote Green?

Because only one party cares about the real issues. Climate change: we need to get serious now — and that means a carbon tax; our broken democracy: let’s fix our system, and make every vote count (for details, see greenparty.ca/issues/vision-green); the bogus ‘war on drugs:’ It’s time to legalize marijuana — and start treating the truly dangerous drugs as medical problems, not criminal; our crumbling cities: Greens will double the gas tax transfer for public transportation; accessibility to higher education is eroding, and the other parties’ gimmicks won’t help the students who need it most. Greens believe in funding universities and students directly: more scholarships, more bursaries, more research; and because only one party is part of your community.

I was a U of T student in the mid-1980s, and as a member of Governing Council won the vote for divestment from apartheid South Africa. Later I got a PhD at Princeton, and taught at Ottawa, Harvard, and Chicago. I came home in 2003, living in Christie Pits and teaching here in both classics and philosophy. I know and love our community, and would be proud to be your member of Parliament.


Christine Innes

Liberal Party
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Christine Innes is the Liberal Party’s candidate in Trinity-Spadina. She is an accomplished professional and mother of four, one of whom is an undergraduate university student. Christine graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School. She practiced commercial litigation for 10 years and now works for the Ontario government. She and her family have lived in Trinity-Spadina for more than 25 years.

In a highly competitive global economy, Christine knows that Canadian jobs and prosperity depend on having the most educated and skilled workforce in the world.

While other countries have invested heavily in learning and innovation, Canada has fallen behind.

The Liberal Party has a vision to create jobs and a highly skilled workforce by investing in students. We will give $4,000 tax-free for tuition to every student planning to go to college or university. Low-income recipients would get $6,000. It will be completely portable and will not need to be matched by students or family.

The Liberal Party will make improvements in Aboriginal education and will ensure 100 per cent high-speed Internet connectivity for distance learning.

Christine and the Liberal Party believe that we must have a simple objective: “If you get the grades, you get to go to university or college.”


Olivia Chow,

New Democratic Party
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Only Olivia Chow and the New Democrats, under Jack Layton’s leadership, have been standing up in Parliament and voting against Harper’s destructive agenda. However, with Michael Ignatieff’s help, the Conservatives have extended the war in Afghanistan, and expanded the tar sands.

Olivia gets results for Trinity-Spadina. She has created hundreds of summer jobs for young people, and introduced a National Transit Strategy Bill to improve the TTC. She has helped the community find practical solutions and discuss important issues such as health and home care, the tar sands, increasing pensions, and digital copyright.

In Parliament, Olivia has pushed relentlessly for faster family reunification, recognition of foreign credentials, and won the fight to reinstate the history of gay rights in Canada’s immigration guide. Parliament supported her motion to permit Iraq War resisters to stay in Canada. Olivia is a tireless representative for Trinity-Spadina. She was first elected to Parliament in 2006, after serving as a school board trustee and Toronto’s first female Asian city councillor. The Conservatives consistently receive less than 15 per cent of the vote in Trinity-Spadina. By missing 58 per cent of the votes, Michael Ignatieff has failed to match his words to his actions. In Trinity-Spadina, re-electing Olivia Chow stops Stephen Harper.