Hampton makes campaign stop in Rainy River

Ken Johnston
Editor

Incumbent Member of Provincial Parliament Howard Hampton was in Rainy River campaigning over the weekend with a television crew in tow.
Hampton said that while the leaders of the Liberal and Progressive Conservative Party are busy engaging in a mudslinging campaign, he has been busy focusing on, “The issues that are closest to people.”
Hampton’s campaign slogan is “Public Power” and he has been very vocal in his belief that the hydro system in Ontario should not be privatized as the PC’s have started to do. “Electricity is a necessity of life and the people of Ontario should have reliable and affordable electricity.”
Hampton said that to achieve that his party, if elected to government, would not privatize the utility and would first off begin to address the generation shortfalls in Ontario by promoting energy conservation; something he said was killed by the PCs in 1995 when it was decided to sell off Ontario Hydro. “If the goal is to sell off the electric utility to the Enrons of the world then the goal is not to see a reduction in consumption but an increase to make it seem more valuable.”
Hampton said that his party feels it could attract investors to fund a low interest pool of money that the public could access to use to purchase more energy efficient appliances. He noted that fridges manufactured prior to 1994 were energy hogs. If people were to replace them with new more efficient ones that would save the province a great deal of energy. Using that program and many others Hampton said, “We could reduce usage by 5,000 megawatts per day and get us well below the blackout level.”
As for increasing generation and doing in a way that is environmentally friendly and sees the elimination of coal fired generation, Hampton said there are still many rivers that remain untapped for energy production. He also said that Ontario should get into wind generation and should look at purchasing power from Manitoba’s huge hydro projects.
Closer to home, Hampton said that the PC government has really hurt people with its funding cuts to essential services like long term care and home care. “These are both cruel and thoughtless.” He said his party would put more money into the system and not on the backs of the average citizen, but instead would restore corporate taxes to the levels seen in 1993-98.
Hampton said that the proof is in the pudding when it comes to public auto insurance. Citing Manitoba and other provincially run systems Hampton said consumers could be in substantial savings if a public system were implemented in Ontario. Would he put one in place if elected to government? He said, “Within 18 months there would be public auto insurance in Ontario.”
Hampton also said that the public education system is underfunded by $2 billion. His party would put that money into the system through the creation of an Education Excellence Fund. That fund would be created by adding a 3% tax on anyone’s earnings over $100,000. That tax alone would raise $1.5 billion per year.
When asked how he could guarantee he would deliver on his campaign promises Hampton said, “I let my record stand for itself.” He points to the fact that while he was the Minister of Natural Resources he stood up to the pulp and paper mills and took poplar and birch allocations away from them to create new Oriented Strand Board mills in the region. “People said I would back down because of pressures from the big mills, but I did not.”
Hampton also pointed towards his tough measures restricting limits and implementing slot sizes on border water fishing on Rainy Lake. Hampton said that the measures were opposed on both sides of the border but now the lake is becoming rejuvenated.
Hampton concluded the interview saying, “This is a pretty fundamental election. If people want our electrical system, hospitals and water systems privatized then they can vote for the PCs who will give them all of that. The Liberals will give them most of that. I ask people to vote for what they believe in.”